Soon there will be no more secrets for the #DarkEnergy and the #DarkMatter of the Universe.
The goal of the satellite is producing a large-scale map of the three-dimensional structure of the #Universe by studying #galaxies up to distances of 10 billion light years from our Planet.
The EUCLID satellite has successfully passed electromagnetic compatibility tests and it is ready for the space environment. The satellite is scheduled to be launched this summer with SpaceX Falcon 9.
A quick step forward. EUCLID is an ESA medium-class astronomy and astrophysics #mission, with the fundamental contribution of ASI-Italian Space Agency, designed to understand the #expansionrate of the Universe and the modification of shape of two billion galaxies outside the Milky Way. Most physicists agree that such changes can only be explained by understanding the mysterious and unknown Dark Matter and Dark Energy.
EUCLID is the most complex mission in terms of scientific targets ever developed. The current #cosmologicalmodel predicts the Universe is composed of: 5% visible matter, 25% dark matter that does not generate light and cannot be seen but can be weighed and 70% dark energy. Starting from this theoretical framework, the scientists have the ambition to understand why the Universe is moving faster than the model predicts and whether matter and dark energy play a role in this #acceleration.
The EUCLID Satellite (2.160 kg for an overall cost of 1,5 Bil. Eur) hosts two cutting edge #scientificinstruments: a visible-wavelength camera (#VIS) and a near-infrared camera/spectrometer (#NISP) to scan the deep space through a 1.2m diameter telescope. #OHBItalia has developed the extremely sophisticated electronic units which are the #interfaces of this main equipment on board and represent the “#brain” of the system.
In the EUCLID Consortium, led by TAS and Airbus Defence and Space, are involved more than 300 Italian scientists ready to discover the unrevealed energy that is controlling the Universe since the beginning of its creation and to observe the deformations on the visible part caused by the invisible. They would then be able to understand where the dark matter is concentrated, in which direction and at what distance from the #Earth (back in time).
EUCLID will give a response to the fundamental questions of modern cosmology on how was the Universe created and why is it expanding, rather than slowing down as it should, due to the effect of #gravitationalforces. It would not be the first time that physical theories have been completely changed.
Read more on: La Repubblica (by Emilio Cozzi):
https://lnkd.in/dsUZBp2X
Read more on ASI website:
https://lnkd.in/dFcYFi4q
www.ohb-italia.it
