UPDATE—May 14, 2009—Ariane 5 lifts off! Planck and Herschel en route to the origins of the Universe!
May 13, 2009—Tomorrow (May 14, 2009) at 8:12 a.m. CDT the Planck spacecraft and the Herschel Space Observatory will blast into space aboard the same Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. The European Space Agency (ESA) leads both missions, with significant participation from NASA. University of Illinois Professor of Physics and of Astronomy Benjamin D. Wandelt has played a key role on the U.S. Planck team since its inception.
Wandelt is best known for his analysis of data from NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) space missions, which have measured the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation from the early Universe. These light remnants from the big bang, shifted to microwave wavelengths by the expansion of the Universe, have allowed scientists to begin to understand the age and geometry of the Universe, confirm the existence of dark energy, and constrain the likely density of hot dark matter.
Wandelt has worked very closely with experimentalists in designing the instruments to be used in the Planck spacecraft, which, by obtaining the definitive maps of the CMB and detailed all-sky observations of other components of the microwave sky, will address fundamental questions left unanswered by COBE and WMAP. He is the co-leader of Planck’s harmonic analysis effort, is an associate of the theory and simulations team, and serves on the U.S. Planck internal advisory board.
According to Wandelt, Planck will provide the deepest, clearest, sharpest, and least obstructed view ever seen of the beginning of the Universe. "It will be a quantum leap in our ability to address fundamental questions about how the Universe began—what banged at the big bang."
Through Wandelt’s work, the University of Illinois is one of only a few select U.S. institutions to be involved in the Planck mission.
While Planck measures the CMB, the Herschel observatory will peek into the dustiest and earliest stages of planet, star and galaxy growth. The spacecraft's astronomy mirror—about 3.5 m in diameter—is the largest ever launched into space. It will collect longer-wavelength light in the infrared and submillimeter range—light never before investigated by an astronomy mission.
The launch will be webcast live from the Guiana Space Center.
Artist’s rendering of the Herschel Space Observatory (left) and the Planck spacecraft (right).