# NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Will Seek Life’s Ingredients

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**Created:** [February 14, 2025, 2:02pm UTC](https://spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/t/nasa-s-spherex-space-telescope-will-seek-life-s-ingredients/79 "2025-02-14T14:02:34Z")\
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**Post date:** [February 14, 2025, 2:02pm UTC](https://spaceisameansofproduction.discourse.group/t/nasa-s-spherex-space-telescope-will-seek-life-s-ingredients/79/1 "2025-02-14T14:02:34Z")

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Every living organism on Earth needs water to survive, so scientists searching for life outside our solar system, are often guided by the phrase “follow the water.” Scheduled to launch no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 27, NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) mission will help in that quest.

After its ride aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force base in California, the observatory will search for water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other key ingredients for life frozen on the surface of interstellar dust grains in the clouds of gas and dust where planets and stars eventually form.

> **[NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Will Seek Life’s Ingredients - NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/universe/nasas-spherex-space-telescope-will-seek-lifes-ingredients/)**
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> Where is all the water that may form oceans on distant planets and moons? The SPHEREx astrophysics mission will search the galaxy and take stock.