The Europe's Euclid space satellite was launched on Saturday to space on a mission to shed new light on the mysterious cosmic phenomena known as dark energy and dark matter, unseen forces scientists say account for 95% of the known universe.
The telescope dubbed Euclid, named for the ancient Greek mathematician called the "father of geometry," was carried aloft in the cargo bay of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that blasted off around 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
At the cost of USD1.4 billion, the mission is designed to last at least six years and is expected to transform astrophysics and perhaps understanding of the very nature of gravity itself.
Following a short flight to space, Euclid will be released from the Falcon for a month-long voyage to its destination in solar orbit nearly 1.6 million kilometres (one million miles) from Earth - a position of gravitational stability between the Earth and sun called the Lagrange Point Two, or L2.
Source: Qatar News Agency