Nasa Universe Poster 10x10 1

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
UNIVERSE | DISCOVER ITS SECRETS

www.nasa.gov
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
UNIVERSE | DISCOVER ITS SECRETS
The universe is everything. It includes all of space, matter, energy, astrophysics community since the universe should be slowing down
time, and you. NASA’s Astrophysics Division is dedicated to exploring due to the gravitational attraction between galaxies, but it is doing the
the universe, pushing the boundaries of what is known of the cosmos, and opposite. We use the name “dark energy” to refer to the mysterious in-
sharing its discoveries with the world. The Division continues expanding fluence that is responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe.
humanity’s understanding of how the universe began and evolved, how it
works, and whether there are places beyond Earth where life might thrive. Additionally, many galaxies appear to lack sufficient mass to be held
By working together with collaborators and academic partners from all together by gravity and should have been torn apart long ago. So, what
over the world, NASA researchers are making progress towards address- is causing these unknown phenomena? Dark matter, which makes up
ing these tantalizing scientific goals with leading-edge technologies and 85% of total matter in the universe, is a hypothetical type of matter that
groundbreaking science. responsible for the way galaxies are organized.
HOW DID WE GET HERE? The upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, set to launch no
later than May 2027, is an observatory designed to unravel the secrets of
There are many questions associated with the creation dark energy and dark matter, as well as search for and image exoplanets,
and evolution of the cosmos. How were the first stars and and explore many other topics in astrophysics. Additionally, NASA Astro-
galaxies created? How did they influence subsequent physics contributes to ESA’s Euclid mission investigating mysteries of the
galaxy, star, and planet formation? How did the creation dark universe. Learn more about Roman: https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov
of the universe lead to our existence?
ARE WE ALONE?
With the current fleet of Astrophysics missions, researchers are able to
study the first stars and galaxies forming out of the darkness of the early Since the dawn of human civilization, humankind has
universe with state-of-the-art technologies that act as powerful time ma- looked to the stars and wondered if life, whether it be
chines, peering back over 13.5 billion years. similar to our own or not, exists beyond our planet. Until
1992, when the first exoplanets were confirmed, it was
These space missions are aimed at expanding our knowledge of the uncertain whether there were even any planets outside of
universe and how we came to be by using a variety of observational and our own solar system. Today, thanks to the detailed data
theoretical techniques. From strategic missions (James Webb Space from the Astrophysics missions fleet, we now know of over 5,500 planets
Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and around other stars and thousands of other planet candidates. Of those
the future SPHEREx and Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope) to inno- confirmed exoplanets, roughly 50 small (roughly Earth-sized planets) or-
vative Explorer-class missions (Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, NuSTAR, bit within their star’s habitable zone, where liquid water, which is essential
TESS, IXPE, and NICER) to smaller missions flown on CubeSats, bal- for life as we know it, could potentially pool under the right conditions.
loons, and sounding rockets, the Astrophysics Division enables scientists
to collect data that will unfold a wide variety of mysteries of the universe. To take the search for life beyond our solar system a big step forward,
Learn more: https://universe.nasa.gov NASA is discussing a future mission concept with the capabilities to iden-
tify and image Earth-like planets and characterize them for evidence of
HOW DOES THE UNIVERSE WORK? life. The search for life has long been one of NASA’s key priorities, from
some of the first exoplanet observations with Hubble, to the Kepler and
There are many mysteries of the universe we have yet TESS missions, to a closer study of exoplanet atmospheres with Webb.
to understand. Since the early 20th century, scientists A mission concept, the Habitable Worlds Observatory, will be designed
have known that the universe is expanding. In the 1990s, specifically to look at habitable planets and their atmospheres to help
researchers discovered that, surprisingly, the expansion answer the question, “is there life beyond Earth?” Learn more about the
is accelerating. This was an astonishing discovery for the Habitable Worlds Observatory: https://go.nasa.gov/3tEWQcp
https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics
www.nasa.gov NP-2023-11-3193-HQ

Nasa Universe Poster 10x10 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Nasa Universe Poster 10x10 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Nasa Universe Poster 10x10 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

UNIVERSE | DISCOVER ITS SECRETS

UNIVERSE | DISCOVER ITS SECRETS

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.