It aims to shed light on some of the most important mysteries of the cosmos. The European Euclid mission is due to take off on Saturday July 1 to study dark matter and dark energy. Two notions of which we know nothing but which represent 95% of the universe. The space telescope, which will scan some 12 billion objects for at least six years, must leave Earth from the American base at Cape Canaveral (Florida). Although led by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Euclid mission is on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Takeoff is scheduled for 5:11 p.m. (French time). Follow our live.
A departure from Florida with SpaceX. Entangled in difficulties accessing space with the end of the Ariane 5 rocket and the delay of Ariane 6, Europe ended up calling on the private company of billionaire Elon Musk for the launch of Euclid. The space telescope will take off aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
Direction the point of Lagrange 2. The two-ton ship, 4.7 meters high and 3.5 meters wide, must place itself in orbit on this point called L2 located 1.5 million kilometers from the Earth, considered as the new Eldorado of astronomy. The famous James Webb telescope is one of the devices that are there.
The greatest challenges of modern physics. The Euclid mission must produce a three-dimensional map. This will be the most precise and deepest ever. It should enable scientists to trace the evolution of the major structures of the cosmos and to better understand dark matter and dark energy. Successfully characterizing them could lead to the discovery of new particles or to changing the current laws of physics.