Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe was a NASA spacecraft that was launched on June 30, 2001, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, United States, to make precise measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) over the full sky. The mission was a collaboration between NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Princeton University, with significant contributions from University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Chicago. The spacecraft was named after David Wilkinson, a cosmologist who worked on the COBE mission, a predecessor to the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe.

● Introduction

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe was designed to build upon the success of the COBE mission, which had made the first precise measurements of the CMB in the 1990s. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe was equipped with a set of microwave radiometers that were capable of making highly sensitive measurements of the CMB, allowing scientists to study the universe in its earliest moments, including the Big Bang theory, which was first proposed by Georges Lemaitre and later supported by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson. The mission was also supported by European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency, and involved scientists from University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and California Institute of Technology. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe was launched into a Lissajous orbit around the L2 Lagrange point, where it could maintain a stable temperature and make precise measurements of the CMB, similar to the Planck satellite.

● Spacecraft Design

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe spacecraft was designed to be highly stable and to minimize any potential sources of error in its measurements, using techniques developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center. The spacecraft was equipped with a set of microwave radiometers that were capable of making highly sensitive measurements of the CMB, and a telescope that was designed to collect and focus the CMB radiation, similar to the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. The spacecraft also had a highly stable cryogenic cooler system, which was used to cool the microwave radiometers to very low temperatures, allowing them to make precise measurements of the CMB, a technique also used by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe was launched on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and was placed into a Lissajous orbit around the L2 Lagrange point, where it could maintain a stable temperature and make precise measurements of the CMB, similar to the Hubble Space Telescope.

● Mission Objectives

The primary objective of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe mission was to make precise measurements of the CMB, which would allow scientists to study the universe in its earliest moments, including the formation of structure and the evolution of the universe, topics also studied by the Sloan Great Wall and 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey. The mission was designed to measure the CMB with high precision, and to use these measurements to constrain models of the universe, including the Lambda-CDM model, which was also supported by Supernova Legacy Survey and High-Z Supernova Search Team. The mission was also designed to search for polarization in the CMB, which would provide additional information about the universe in its earliest moments, a topic also studied by the BICEP2 and Keck Array experiments. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe mission was supported by National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and European Research Council, and involved scientists from University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and University of Michigan.

● Observational Results

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe made highly precise measurements of the CMB, which provided a wealth of information about the universe in its earliest moments, including the age of the universe, the density of the universe, and the composition of the universe, topics also studied by the BOOMERanG experiment and MAXIMA experiment. The mission measured the CMB with high precision, and used these measurements to constrain models of the universe, including the Lambda-CDM model, which was also supported by Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe's successor, the Planck satellite. The mission also searched for polarization in the CMB, and made the first detection of polarization in the CMB, which provided additional information about the universe in its earliest moments, a topic also studied by the QUaD experiment and BICEP1 experiment. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe results were published in a series of papers in the Astrophysical Journal, and were also presented at conferences such as the American Astronomical Society meeting and the International Astronomical Union general assembly.

● Impact on Cosmology

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe had a major impact on our understanding of the universe, providing precise measurements of the CMB that allowed scientists to constrain models of the universe, including the Lambda-CDM model, which was also supported by Sloan Digital Sky Survey and 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey. The mission's results provided strong evidence for the Big Bang theory, and allowed scientists to study the universe in its earliest moments, including the formation of structure and the evolution of the universe, topics also studied by the Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe results also provided insights into the properties of dark matter and dark energy, which are thought to make up approximately 70% of the universe's mass-energy density, a topic also studied by the Dark Energy Survey and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. The mission's results were recognized with the Gruber Prize in Cosmology in 2006, and the Shaw Prize in 2010, and involved scientists from University of California, Berkeley, University of Chicago, and California Institute of Technology.

● Legacy and Follow-on Missions

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe has a lasting legacy in the field of cosmology, providing precise measurements of the CMB that have allowed scientists to constrain models of the universe, including the Lambda-CDM model, which was also supported by Planck satellite and Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The mission's results have been used to inform the design of future CMB missions, including the Simons Observatory and CMB-S4, which will make even more precise measurements of the CMB, and will allow scientists to study the universe in its earliest moments with even greater precision, a topic also studied by the James Webb Space Telescope and Euclid mission. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe has also inspired a new generation of scientists and engineers, who are working on the next generation of CMB missions, including the BICEP3 experiment and Keck Array, and involved scientists from University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and California Institute of Technology. The mission's legacy continues to be felt in the field of cosmology, and its results remain a cornerstone of our understanding of the universe, a topic also studied by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and South Pole Telescope. Category:Astronomy