The Dark Energy Mystery

Dark energy is one of the biggest mysteries in our universe. It is the force responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe. While scientists can't directly observe dark energy, they can see its effects on the universe's expansion.

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are two of the leading organizations in the search for dark energy. Both have launched telescopes and missions to explore the universe and learn more about this mysterious force. In this blog post, we'll compare the efforts of NASA vs the European Space Agency in the search for dark energy.

NASA's mission

NASA operates the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission, launched in December 2009. The mission aims to map the entire sky in the infrared spectrum to detect the glow of cold objects, including galaxies, stars, and asteroids. WISE was also used to study the effects of dark energy on the expanding universe.

In 2021, NASA will launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The mission, formerly known as WFIRST, will study dark energy, exoplanets, and other topics in astrophysics. The Roman Space Telescope will use two techniques to study dark energy: weak gravitational lensing and baryon acoustic oscillation.

ESA's mission

The European Space Agency launched the Euclid space telescope in 2021. The mission has the ambitious goal of mapping the geometry of the dark universe: dark matter, dark energy, and the large-scale structure of the universe. Euclid will use two techniques to study dark energy: weak gravitational lensing, and galaxy clustering.

Euclid's dark energy science comes from measuring the large-scale structure of the universe to estimate how much the universe has expanded over time. The mission plans to study tens of millions of galaxies to build a 3D map of cosmic structures' distribution.

The Comparison

The methods used by both NASA and ESA to study dark energy have a lot in common. Both missions use weak gravitational lensing, the bending of light caused by the gravitational pull of dark matter, to estimate the distribution of dark matter throughout the universe. Both study galaxy clustering, which measures the distribution patterns of galaxies.

Nevertheless, the missions are different in one major way. Euclid plans to create a 3D map of the universe's large-scale structure, studying tens of millions of galaxies. Meanwhile, NASA's Roman Space Telescope aims to analyze the light of billions of galaxies to study dark energy through weak gravitational lensing and baryon acoustic oscillation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both NASA and ESA have invested heavily in missions to study dark matter, and subsequently, dark energy. Both missions use superior technology and techniques to achieve their goals. While NASA's Roman Space Telescope plans to study the light of billions of galaxies, Euclid has already launched with the ambitious aim of creating a 3D map of cosmic structures' distribution.

Regardless of the differences, knowledge of dark energy is essential in understanding the universe's evolution. While the search for dark energy remains a mystery, NASA and ESA's investment in space technology is invaluable in uncovering the secrets of the universe.

References

1. NASA. (2021). WISE. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/main/index.html
2. NASA. (2021). The Roman Space Telescope. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/roman/main/index.html
3. ESA. (2021). Euclid. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid