Members of NASA’s
SPHEREx
The mission team marked Earth Day and the successful deployment of the astrophysics observatory by ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on April 22, 2025.
What is it?
The image depicts the instant when Michael Thelen, who serves as NASA’s flight systems manager for the SPHEREx observatory, sounded the ceremonial close at the New York Stock Exchange on Earth Day, April 22, 2025. Accompanying him during this event were fellow members of both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) squad and representatives from BAE Systems Inc., Viral Buzz News & Mission Systems—the organization responsible for constructing the telescope—and Viral Buzz Newscraft, whose primary structural component is referred to as a “bus.”
By 4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (2000 Greenwich Mean Time), trading concluded routinely on Tuesday when brokers assembled beneath the stock exchange floor to listen for the bell signaling the close of day under Thelen’s direction.
Where is it?
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), situated in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City, stands as a prominent institution.
SPHEREx (also known as the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) operates in a Sun-synchronous, low-Earth orbit approximately 430 miles (700 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface. The spacecraft was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base located in Southern California.
on March 12, 2025
.
Why is it amazing?
Even though NASA has previously been asked to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (or NASDAQ), such occurrences are less frequent compared to when companies listed on these exchanges or other notable figures from current events get the chance to do so.
The remarkable aspect of the SPHEREx mission lies in its promised discoveries. This project was designed and deployed with the aim of gathering information about over 450 million celestial bodies.
galaxies
And 100 million stars within it.
Milky Way
The data sent back to Earth will enhance scientists’ comprehension of the universe’s evolution and aid in the search for essential building blocks of life within our Milky Way galaxy.
Want to know more?
You can learn more about a different mission.
Ringing the New York Stock Exchange bell for ViralBuzzNews
or see the
initial pictures captured by SPHEREx
You can additionally read
additional information regarding the SPHEREx mission
.
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