Introduction
The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) is a NASA Small Explorer Class mission that is investigating the causes and evolution of star formation in galaxies over the history of the Universe, observing galaxies in ultraviolet light across 10 billion years of cosmic history.
A Pegasus rocket launched GALEX into orbit at 8 a.m. EDT on April 28th, 2003. Although originally planned as a 29-month mission, the NASA Senior Review Panel in 2006 recommended that the mission lifetime be extended.
GALEX’s observations are telling scientists how galaxies, the basic structures of our Universe, evolve and change. Additionally, GALEX observations are investigating the causes of star formation during a period when most of the stars and elements we see today had their origins.
Led by the California Institute of Technology, GALEX is conducting several first-of-a-kind sky surveys, including an extra-galactic (beyond our galaxy) ultraviolet all-sky survey. During its mission GALEX will produce the first comprehensive map of a Universe of galaxies under construction, bringing us closer to understanding how galaxies like our own Milky Way were formed.
GALEX is also identifying celestial objects for further study by ongoing and future missions.
GALEX data now populates a large, unprecedented archive available to the entire astronomical community and to the general public.
Scientists would like to understand when the stars that we see today and the chemical elements that make up our Milky Way galaxy were formed. With its ultraviolet observations, GALEX is filling in one of the key pieces of this puzzle. [1]
Mission – The GALEX mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, which is managed by the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The GALEX mission is a partnership between the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with universities, science institutes, laboratories, and commercial technology providers from around the world.
- Caltech in Pasadena, California, hosts the GALEX science center and has overall responsibility for the project.
- JPL in Pasadena, California, constructed the GALEX science instrument, performed calibration, and is responsible for project management.
- Leading the GALEX project is the principal investigator, professor Chris Martin, of Caltech. [2]
Partners include:
- Orbital in Dulles, Virginia, which is responsible for the spacecraft integration and testing, ground data system and mission operations, and the launch vehicle.
- University of California, Berkeley, which led the development of detectors and front-end electronics and performs science analysis.
- Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille in France, which is responsible for the optical design, grism development, imaging window development, aspheric development, science instrument development and testing support, and performs science analysis.
- Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, which is supporting science calibration and testing and supports science operations and science analysis.
- The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Pasadena, California, which is supporting science analysis.
- Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, which developed the science archive and performs science analysis.
- University of California, Los Angeles, which has been involved in survey planning and performs science analysis.
- Multimission Archive at Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, which manages the science archive operation and legacy data archive.
Science Mission
During its nominal 29-months mission it makes observations at ultraviolet wavelengths to measure the history of star formation in the Universe 80 percent of the way back to the Big Bang. Since scientists believe the universe is about 13 billion years old, the mission will study galaxies and stars across about 10 billion years of cosmic history.
The spacecraft's mission is to observe hundreds of thousands of galaxies, with the goal of determining how far away each galaxy is from Earth and how fast stars are forming (star formation rate, or SFR) in each galaxy. Near- and Far-UV emissions as measured by GALEX can indicate the presence of young stars, but may also originate from old stellar populations (e.g. sdB stars). [3]
In the Multi-Payload Processing Facility.
Multi-Payload Processing Facility workers check the deployment of the cover of the telescope on the GALEX satellite. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) is an orbiting space telescope that will observe galaxies in ultraviolet light across 10 billion years of cosmic history.
Image Credit: NASA.
Led by the California Institute of Technology, GALEX will conduct several first-of-a-kind sky surveys, including an extra-galactic (beyond our galaxy) ultraviolet all-sky survey. During its 29-month mission GALEX will produce the first comprehensive map of a Universe of galaxies under construction, bringing more understanding of how galaxies like the Milky Way were formed. GALEX is due to be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station March 25 via a Pegasus rocket.
Johnny Appleseed of the Cosmos
Johnny Appleseed of the Cosmos
A new ultraviolet mosaic from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows a speeding star that is leaving an enormous trail of "seeds" for new solar systems. The star, named Mira (pronounced my-rah) after the latin word for "wonderful," is shedding material that will be recycled into new stars, planets and possibly even life as it hurls through our galaxy.
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