The $488-million mission is set to map the sky in 102 colors of light, probing cosmic inflation, galactic ices, and the history of the universe’s first light.
SPHEREx is set to launch no earlier than Feb. 27 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
A SpaceX Falcon 9, carrying the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions, is scheduled to lift off on Sunday at 10:09 p.m. ET.