NASA & SpaceX Update Launch Plans for SPHEREx & PUNCH

SPHEREx Instrument in Space — NASA’s SPHEREx mission will perform the first full-sky spectral survey, capturing light signatures across the cosmos. Over its planned two-year journey, the observatory will study over 450 million galaxies and more than 100 million stars within the Milky Way, providing key insights into how the universe began. SPHEREx Illustration Credit: NASA

NASA and SpaceX are set to launch the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions on March 4, aiming to explore cosmic origins and the Sun’s outer atmosphere. The event will be broadcast live on NASA+, with a prelaunch briefing on March 3.

NASA and SpaceX are now aiming to launch the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions no earlier than Tuesday, March 4. The delay allows teams to further assess data related to the launch vehicle’s hardware. (Previously the launch was scheduled for March 2, and before that, February 28.)

The launch window opens at 10:09 p.m. EST (7:09 p.m. PST) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) is designed to investigate what occurred in the first second after the Big Bang and to search for essential building blocks of life in our galaxy. Meanwhile, PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) will study the Sun’s corona and how it transitions into the solar wind.

The prelaunch news briefing now is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on March 3, with coverage streaming live on NASA+.

The SPHEREx and PUNCH live launch broadcast will begin at 9:15 p.m., March 4, and stream live NASA+.

NASA Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) — NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission is a constellation of four small satellites in low Earth orbit that will make global, 3D observations of the Sun’s corona to learn how the mass and energy there become solar wind. Credit: NASA

The SPHEREx and PUNCH missions are two NASA projects designed to explore fundamental mysteries of space.

SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) will study the universe’s earliest moments, specifically the first second after the Big Bang. It will also search for water and organic molecules — the building blocks of life — within our galaxy. By mapping the sky in infrared light, SPHEREx aims to provide insights into cosmic history and the conditions that may have led to life’s formation.

PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) will focus on our Sun, capturing detailed images of the corona — the outermost layer of the Sun’s atmosphere — as it expands into space, forming the solar wind. This mission will help scientists better understand how solar particles interact with Earth’s space environment, potentially improving space weather predictions.

Together, these missions will enhance our understanding of both the origins of the universe and the forces shaping our solar system.