Designers at NASA have come up with a now-approved design for the SPHEREx space telescope. This infrared observatory will help solve the mystery of inflation by looking for subtle differences in the distribution of matter across the cosmos. Here’s more from Astronomy Now:

Built around a modest 20-centimetre (8-inch) telescope, the $242 million SPHEREx mission also will focus on the history of galaxy formation and look for water ice and organic compounds, both essential for life as it’s known on Earth, in stellar nurseries and in disks around stars where planets may be forming.

During its planned two-year mission, SPHEREx will collect data on more than 300 million galaxies and more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way, surveying the entire sky every six months to build up a three-dimensional map in 107 near-infrared colours.

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