Creeping ice clouding vision of Europe space telescope Euclid

Scientists are trying to melt a thin layer of ice that is increasingly clouding the vision of the “dark universe detective” space telescope Euclid, the European Space Agency said on Tuesday. It is the latest of several technical setbacks for the wideeyed telescope, which blasted off into space in July on a mission to chart a third of the sky. By doing so, the ESA hopes Euclid will reveal out more about the nature of dark matter and dark energy, which are thought to make up 95 percent of the universe but remain shrouded in mystery.

During checks in November, the WHDP RQ WKH JURXQG ÀUVW QRWLFHG WKDW they were losing a little light coming LQWR WKH WHOHVFRSH·V YLVLEOH OLJKW LPDJer, Euclid instrument operations scientist Ralf Kohley told AFP. After digging into the data, they believe the problem is a layer of ice — thought to be just the width of a strand of DNA — that is EXLOGLQJ XS RQ WKH WHOHVFRSH·V RSWLFDO VXUIDFHV ´,W·V D ELJ SUREOHP µ .RKOH\ acknowledged.

But researchers have been working on it, Kohley said, adding that he had no doubt Euclid would be able to ÀQLVK LWV PLVVLRQ .HHSLQJ RXW ZDWHU LV a common problem for all spacecrafts. Despite best efforts on the ground, a tiny amount of water absorbed during D VSDFHFUDIW·V DVVHPEO\ RQ (DUWK FDQ smuggle its way to space. Faced with the cold vastness of space, the water PROHFXOHV IUHH]H WR WKH ÀUVW VXUIDFH they can — in this case, some may KDYH ODQGHG RQ WKH (XFOLG·V PLUURUV

Thin ice

Shortly after the telescope launched, scientists used its on-board heaters to heat up everything on the spacecraft, hoping to blast out any potential water. This could be done again. “But heating out everything is very disruptive for the mission,” Kohley said. Because heat expands most materials, warming up the whole spacecraft involves careful recalibration.

It would take at least a month to get the telescope back to its job surveying the sky, Kohley said. So last week, the

ESA started warming just two of the WHOHVFRSH·V PLUURUV WXUQLQJ WKH WHPperature up just enough to hopefully melt away the ice. This “minimally invasive” partial warming will last until Thursday, Kohley said. The scientists may not know if it works until mid-April.

Part of the problem is that the scientists do not know exactly where the ice is accumulating — or how much there is. And even if the scientists do manage to melt the ice, it could come back over time, Kohley warned.

If the partial warming plan fails, the ESA will have to heat up the whole spacecraft. If the team have to do WKLV HYHU\ \HDU GXULQJ WKH WHOHVFRSH·V planned-six year mission it could result in a six-month delay, Kohley said. “But WKDW·V DOO VSHFXODWLRQ µ KH VDLG

“For the moment, we have to wait and see — and hope we can rid of this problem in a more elegant fashLRQ µ ,W LV QRW WKH ÀUVW SUREOHP IRU (Xclid. Cosmic rays previously confused WKH VSDFHFUDIW·V ÀQH JXLGDQFH VHQVRU which required a complicated software update. Some unwanted sunlight also interfered with its observations, a problem solved by slightly rotating the telescope, Kohley said. However nothing can be done about particularly strong VRODU ÁDUHV RFFDVLRQDOO\ SURMHFWLQJ

This undated handout shows an alternative crop of an astronomical image of spiral galaxy IC 342 taken during ESA’s Euclid space mission, which is built and operated by the European Space Agency ESA and with contributions from NASA. X-ray images on the visible imager. Euclid, which the ESA calls its “dark XQLYHUVH GHWHFWLYH µ RIÀFLDOO\ VWDUWHG LWV VXUYH\ ODVW PRQWK ,WV ÀUVW LPDJHV UHleased in November, revealed swirling galaxies bursting with color in the distant cosmos. — AFP

Scientists attend the presentation of ESA’s Euclid spacecraft in Cannes, south-eastern France, on February 21, 2023. — AFP photos