Euclid – Solving the Mysteries of Our Universe

What is the nature of dark energy? What are the characteristics of dark matter? How has the universe expanded over time? Can we define precisely what gravity is? We are far from knowing the answers to these questions. But Euclid might help us with that.

Mission Objective

Euclid has been sent to one of the deepest spots in space, Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, after the quest for the most unknown mysteries of our universe. The Euclid spacecraft observes the Universe’s evolution spanning the last 10 billion years. It will unveil the dynamics of its expansion and the emergence of cosmic structures throughout its history.

Mission Significance

Through these observations, astronomers can deduce the characteristics of dark energy, dark matter, and gravity to uncover more about their precise nature.

Source: ESA

Engineering Challenges

To map the Universe with unprecedented precision, there are very demanding engineering challenges. Such as:

• Its instruments must achieve extremely stable and distortion-free imaging over a very wide field of view, meaning even tiny mechanical shifts or thermal variations can impact cosmological measurements.
• Strict stray light control – a small background contamination can distort weak-lensing signals and faint galaxy photometry.
• Thermal Stability – temperature variations might change detector sensitivity and optical alignment.
• Efficient Data Handling – since Euclid must process and transmit enormous amounts of data while operating with limited bandwidth.

Mission Components

Euclid spacecraft contains two major components-

Methodology Overview

• The spacecraft orbits the 2^nd Lagrange point (L2).
• It captures images in optical and near-infrared wavelengths. The images encompass over a third of the extragalactic sky, excluding our Milky Way.
• Euclid conducts near-infrared spectroscopy of hundreds of millions of galaxies and stars over the sky. The incoming data allows the investigation of important galactic targets’ kinematical and chemical characteristics.

NISP. Source: ESA

Acktar’s Solution

Acktar coated NISP with Fractal Black coating, thereby assisting in reducing stray light and improving the thermal stability of the spectrometer and photometer to detect galaxy spectroscopy signals accurately.

Impact

Cosmologists and astronomers have been struggling with the questions above since humankind started investigating outer space. Although it is known that dark energy propels the Universe’s expansion and that dark matter controls the formation of cosmic structures, it is not known what dark energy and dark matter are.

Name Origin

Euclid was a well-known Greek mathematician in ancient times. Euclid lived during 300 BC, and his main specialties were geometry and logic. He was considered “the father of geometry” since he established the fundamentals that dominated the field until the early 19^th century. The mission was named after him, as energy and density are related to the universe’s geometry.

To get to L2, Euclid had quite a journey, which they completed successfully. Until the beginning of the scientific survey, many necessary preparations were needed. All that is left is to hope that there won’t be any complications that will interrupt along the way, but mainly to wonder – which mysteries this mission will be able to solve?

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ACKTAR PARTS: