The Euclid spacecraft hitchhiked off the planet on a SpaceX rocket Saturday, on a mission to create the best-ever three-dimension map of the known universe.
"Most of the universe is not made of atoms," University of B.C. astronomy professor Douglas Scott told CBC News. "It's made of a kind of stuff called dark matter and another kind of stuff called dark energy.WATCH | SpaceX rocket powers Euclid satellite into orbitDurationThe Euclid spacecraft, on an unmanned mission involving several Canadian scientists, launched on July 1 with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It will create a 3D map to better understand dark matter in the universe.
Scott is one of roughly 2,000 scientists from 17 countries involved in designing and planning the instruments aboard the Euclid.Overseen by the European Space Agency , the mission's $1.4-billion price tag is being covered by a number of countries, including Canada.The ESA said Euclid will travel for around a month to reach an orbit around the sun averaging 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, far enough from our planet's atmosphere to avoid image distortions.
In its planned six-year lifespan, it will be able to capture detailed images for one-third of the sky seen from Earth, the agency said. Its first images are expected around two months from now. Using various instruments including a type of telescope, scientists hope to be able to examine 10 billion years of the evolution of our universe.
The ship includes a telescope 1.2 metres in diameter, as well as a camera that can capture wavelengths visible to the eye, and a device to capture near-infrared waves.
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