Euclid (spacecraft)

*Euclid*
	Artist's impression
Names	Dark Universe Explorer (DUNE); Spectroscopic All Sky Cosmic Explorer (SPACE)
Mission type	Astronomy
Operator	ESA
COSPAR ID	2023-092A
SATCAT no.	57209
Website	sci.esa.int/euclid; euclid-ec.org
Mission duration	6 years (nominal) ; 10 months and 28 days (in progress)
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Thales Alenia Space (main); Airbus Defence and Space (payload module)
Launch mass	2,000 kg (4,400 lb)
Payload mass	800 kg (1,800 lb)
Dimensions	4.5 m × 3.1 m (15 ft × 10 ft)
Start of mission
Launch date	1 July 2023 15:12 UTC
Rocket	Falcon 9
Launch site	Cape Canaveral SLC-40
Contractor	SpaceX
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Sun–Earth L2
Regime	Lissajous orbit
Periapsis altitude	1,150,000 km (710,000 mi)
Apoapsis altitude	1,780,000 km (1,110,000 mi)
Epoch	Planned
Main telescope
Type	Korsch telescope
Diameter	1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)
Focal length	24.5 m (80 ft)
Collecting area	1.006 m2 (10.83 sq ft)
Wavelengths	From 550 nm (green); to 2 μm (near-infrared)
Resolution	0.1 arcsec (visible); 0.3 arcsec (near-infrared)
Transponders
Band	X band (TT&C support); K band (data acquisition)
Frequency	8.0–8.4 GHz (X band); 25.5–27 GHz (K band)
Bandwidth	Few kbit/s down & up (X band); 74 Mbit/s (K band)
VIS
Instruments
VIS	VISible imager
NISP	Near Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer
	; The ESA astrophysics insignia for Euclid mission Cosmic Vision ← Solar Orbiter JUICE →

Euclid is a wide-angle space telescope with a 600-megapixel camera to record visible light, a near-infrared spectrometer, and photometer, to determine the redshift of detected galaxies. It was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Euclid Consortium and was launched on 1 July 2023 from Cape Canaveral in Florida.^[10]^[11]

After approximately one month, it reached its destination, a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth second Lagrange point L2, at an average distance of 1.5 million kilometres beyond Earth's orbit (or about four times the distance from the Earth to the Moon). There the telescope is expected to remain operational for at least six years. It joins the Gaia and James Webb Space Telescope missions at L2.

The objective of the Euclid mission is to better understand dark energy and dark matter by accurately measuring the accelerating expansion of the universe. To achieve this, the Korsch-type telescope will measure the shapes of galaxies at varying distances from Earth and investigate the relationship between distance and redshift. Dark energy is generally accepted as contributing to the increased acceleration of the expanding universe, so understanding this relationship will help to refine how physicists and astrophysicists understand it. Euclid's mission advances and complements ESA's Planck telescope (2009 to 2013). The mission is named after the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid.

Euclid is a medium-class ("M-class") mission and is part of the Cosmic Vision campaign of ESA's Science Programme. This class of missions have an ESA budget cap at around €500 million. Euclid was chosen in October 2011 together with Solar Orbiter, out of several competing missions.^[12] Euclid was launched by a Falcon 9.^[13]^[4]

On 7 November 2023 ESA revealed Euclid 's first full-colour images of the cosmos. The telescope has created razor-sharp astronomical images across a large patch of the sky, looking far into the distant universe. The first five images illustrate Euclid 's full potential to create the most extensive 3D map of the universe yet.^[14]^[15]

In May 2024, ESA's Euclid mission released images of galaxy clusters Abell 2390 and Abell 2764, star-forming region Messier 78, spiral galaxy NGC 6744, and the Dorado group of galaxies. These early observations demonstrate Euclid's capability to study dark matter and cosmic evolution.^[16]

^ "Euclid overview". esa.int.
^ "Mission Characteristic – Euclid Consortium". Euclid Consortium. 28 December 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "FACT SHEET". euclid. ESA. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Falcon 9 Block 5 – Euclid Telescope". Next Spaceflight. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Euclid Spacecraft – Telescope". ESA. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference euclid-VIS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference euclid-NISP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b "Euclid – Mapping the geometry of the dark Universe". ESA Earth Observation Portal. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
^ "Follow Euclid's first months in space".
^ Miller, Katrina (1 July 2023). "The Dark Universe Is Waiting. What Will the Euclid Telescope Reveal? – The European Space Agency mission, which launched on Saturday, will capture billions of galaxies to create a cosmic map spanning space and time". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
^ "Euclid successfully launched into space by Falcon 9 rocket". Interesting Engineering. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
^ "Mission Status". European Space Agency. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
^ Foust, Jeff (20 October 2022). "ESA moves two missions to Falcon 9". SpaceNews. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
^ Miller, Katrina (7 November 2023). "Euclid Telescope Dazzles With Detailed First Images of Our Universe - The European Space Agency's premier telescope captured new views of space, a small taste of what it is likely to accomplish in the coming years". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^ "Euclid's first images: The dazzling edge of darkness".
^ "ESA's Euclid celebrates first science with sparkling cosmic views". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 May 2024.

[overview-1] "Euclid overview". esa.int.

[ecSpacecraft-2] "Mission Characteristic – Euclid Consortium". Euclid Consortium. 28 December 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2016.

[new-fact-sheet-3] "FACT SHEET". euclid. ESA. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.

[nxsf-euclid-4] "Falcon 9 Block 5 – Euclid Telescope". Next Spaceflight. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.

[esaTelescope-5] "Euclid Spacecraft – Telescope". ESA. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2011.

[euclid-VIS-6] Cite error: The named reference euclid-VIS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[euclid-NISP-7] Cite error: The named reference euclid-NISP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[eoPortal-8] "Euclid – Mapping the geometry of the dark Universe". ESA Earth Observation Portal. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.

[9] "Follow Euclid's first months in space".

[NYT-20230701-10] Miller, Katrina (1 July 2023). "The Dark Universe Is Waiting. What Will the Euclid Telescope Reveal? – The European Space Agency mission, which launched on Saturday, will capture billions of galaxies to create a cosmic map spanning space and time". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.

[launch-11] "Euclid successfully launched into space by Falcon 9 rocket". Interesting Engineering. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.

[12] "Mission Status". European Space Agency. Retrieved 23 November 2015.

[sn-20221020-13] Foust, Jeff (20 October 2022). "ESA moves two missions to Falcon 9". SpaceNews. Retrieved 20 October 2022.

[NYT-20231107-14] Miller, Katrina (7 November 2023). "Euclid Telescope Dazzles With Detailed First Images of Our Universe - The European Space Agency's premier telescope captured new views of space, a small taste of what it is likely to accomplish in the coming years". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.

[15] "Euclid's first images: The dazzling edge of darkness".

[16] "ESA's Euclid celebrates first science with sparkling cosmic views". www.esa.int. Retrieved 23 May 2024.

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