REPORTING. Behind the scenes of the launch of Euclid, the telescope that will try to unlock the mysteries of dark matter

It is a unique tool for going to observe the invisible which is currently finishing its preparation in Cannes. The Euclid space telescope will leave next summer for the depths of the sky with one objective: to try to unravel the mysteries of matter and dark energy.

In a vast clean room, sheltered from any pollution, teams from Thales Alenia Space are fine-tuning the final details of Euclid. Once in space, one and a half million kilometers from Earth, this European telescope will be able to open its eyes to a large part of the universe and its evolution. He will thus observe space for six years.

Study the evolution of the universe over ten billion years

The machine will leave Cannes in April, to be transported to the United States, where its launch is scheduled for July. “Euclid will focus on looking at the evolution of the universe over ten billion years, when galaxies and stars are forming, and evolving until now. Four to five billion years ago, the universe began to accelerate this expansion”explains Giuseppe Racca, project manager for the European Space Agency (ESA).

To explain this acceleration of the expansion of the universe, but also the distribution, the organization and the evolution of the galaxies, the scientists theorized the existence of a matter and an energy invisible but necessary to the balance of things. “By looking at the expansion and warping of galaxies, we can identify dark energy, adds Giuseppe Racca. Dark matter is a bit the same thing, but more localized around groups of galaxies, it’s something we discovered in the equations”.

“If there’s a flaw, he’ll see it, so we’re all waiting to see the flaw.”

David Elbaz, astrophysicist and research director at the CEA

at franceinfo

Euclid will observe the universe for six years to hope to validate the theories, or to invalidate them, which would delight even more the astrophysicist David Elbaz, director of research and hasstrophysicist at the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). “The secret hope of most scientists is that it invalidates the theory. Euclid is a machine that looks simple, it’s a camera that looks at the sky, but whose requirement for robustness, image finesse and stability over time is extraordinary.”