SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) is a future near-infrared space observatory that will perform an all-sky survey to measure the near-infrared spectra of approximately 450 million galaxies.

In February 2019, SPHEREx was selected by NASA for its next Medium-Class Explorers mission, beating out two competing mission concepts: Arcus and FINESSE. SPHEREx is scheduled to launch on March 5, 2025 at 04:09 (MET) on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket alongside the PUNCH microsatellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The principal investigator is James Bock at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California.

Links:
SPHEREx – NASA

Searching the entire sky for the secrets to our universe

An All-Sky Spectral Survey

How NASA’s SPHEREx Mission Will Share Its All-Sky Map With the World