The European Space Agency presents Euclid, its new telescope that is set to reveal the secrets of dark matter

Why does the universe grow? The question fascinates scientists and space enthusiasts. So, to understand this fact a little better, the European Space Agency is launching its new flagship: the Euclid Telescope, which is the equivalent of the American James Webb Telescope. The goal of the happy new European space: to uncover the secrets of dark matter.

A better understanding of dark matter

Mysterious dark matter accounts for more than a quarter of the universe and yet it remains a real mystery to researchers. Thanks to its 1.2-meter diameter mirror and its resolution, the Euclid telescope will be able to observe and even determine how it has evolved over the past 10 billion years.

With this little technological gem unveiled at Cannes this week, “we will be able to map ancient dark matter and find out how it is distributed in the universe. It will also help us know what this dark matter really is, because we don’t know at the moment, “said project manager Giuseppe RACA for Europe 1.

Valuable data that can allow the realization of a file 3D map of the short-period universe. “After just a few months in space, Euclid will have observed more galaxies than any other mission or observatory to date. It will really serve us in cosmology and astronomy,” notes the scientist.

The next step for the telescope: leaving Earth next July, aboard the Space X rocket, which will take off from Florida, before starting its mission, which will last nearly six years.