Designed to study ancient radiation from the big bang, the Planck space telescope was a European Space Agency mission that aimed to better understand the origin of the universe and the formation of galaxies. Planck produced its first all-sky image in 2010, and scientists are currently working to analyze and parse the various and complex elements. Analysis has already highlighted numerous star-forming clouds across the Milky Way galaxy as well as a previously invisible population of galaxies covered in dust billions of years old.
NASA had significant participation in the Planck mission, which used instruments from the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- Low Frequency Instrument (LFI)
- High Frequency Instrument (HFI)