Once SPHEREx is already in orbit, it will observe and collect data on over 300 million galaxies, some as far as 10 billion light-years away from Earth, and 100 million stars in our own Milky Way every six months. It will use technologies adapted from Earth satellites and Mars spacecraft to survey the sky in optical and near-infrared light. Since it will use 96 wavelengths in all, it will give NASA a way to create an extremely detailed sky map with a resolution that's much, much higher than previous ones.

The space telescope's main goals, though, are to search for water and organic molecules within the Milky Way. It will also look for those ingredients of life in regions where stars are born, as well as in disks around stars forming new planets. By training the telescope's eye beyond our galaxy, NASA is hoping to find more clues on how our universe formed and evolved.

Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said: