ESA's Euclid inches closer to unraveling secrets of dark universe; here's all about it

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid mission has stepped closer to its launch which is planned for 2023. Named after the Greek mathematician Euclid of Alexandria, the mission spacecraft is currently in the development stage and was recently fitted with solar arrays and a sunshield. As the spacecraft continues to inch closer to its launch, let us take a look at what the mission is about.

What is the Euclid mission?

ESA is launching the Euclid spacecraft with the aim to make a 3D map of the universe in order to explore the evolution of dark energy and dark matter- which collectively make up the dark universe. The spacecraft will do the mapping by observing billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away, across more than a third of the sky. Until now, scientists are unaware of what dark energy and dark matter actually are, however, they do know that dark energy accelerates the cosmic expansion and dark matter governs the growth of cosmic structures. According to NASA, roughly 68% of the universe is dark energy whereas dark matter makes up about 27%, which means that scientists have figured out only 5% of the observable universe. 

With Euclid, astronomers will observe the universe's expansion and growth of its structures over the last ten billion years and will infer the role of the properties of dark energy, dark matter and gravity. ESA says that this mission is special also because it could explain not only how the universe has expanded over billions of years but why is it expanding at the current rate. 

About the Euclid spacecraft

The spacecraft (as shown in the image above) measures 4.7 metres tall and 3.7 metres in diameter and consists of two major components- the service module and the payload module. The payload module consists of a 1.2-m-diameter telescope along with two scientific instruments- a visible-wavelength camera and a near-infrared camera/spectrometer whereas the service module consists of systems such as electric power generation and distribution, altitude control, data processing electronics, propulsion, telecommand and telemetry, and thermal control.

Notably, Euclid's orbital weight would be two tonnes comprised of 805 kg of payload module, 865 kg service module, up to 120 kg of balancing mass and 210 kg of propellant. As for the launch, it will be conducted from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana and the spacecraft will be sent to the second Lagrange point (L2) which is 1.5 kilometres from Earth. This is the same location which also hosts the James Webb Space Telescope and the Gaia observatory. According to ESA, Euclid has been designed to last six years and can get a mission extension depending on the amount of propellant left.