NASA’s UVEX space telescope has passed Key Decision Point C (KDP-C), marking a major milestone in the project.

UVEX is led by Caltech and will focus on nearby low-mass, low-metallicity galaxies, time-domain UV phenomena, and broad UV data to complement optical/IR surveys.

UVEX, selected in 2024 as a Medium-Class Explorer mission, will conduct a wide survey of ultraviolet light across the entire sky to study galaxy and star evolution and complement other wide-sky surveys like the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

UVEX will complement surveys from the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, the Vera Rubin Observatory, Euclid, and SPHEREx, enabling multiwavelength studies of the sky.

UVEX is described as the first UV mission in about 20 years to create deep-sky maps in UV and to spectroscopically distinguish chemical elements in distant objects.

Caltech researchers emphasize that observing in a new wavelength reveals unexpected findings and that UVEX represents a bold step in ultraviolet astronomy.

Principal investigator Fiona Harrison of Caltech leads the mission, with collaborators including the University of California, Berkeley; NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Northrop Grumman; and Space Dynamics Laboratory.

Key science pillars include studying low-mass, low-metallicity galaxies, transient and explosive events (such as mergers and tidal disruptions), and building a large UV data treasure trove for broad research use.

The mission aims to be up to 100 times more sensitive than GALEX and will provide deep, two-band UV data over wide sky areas.

The observatory will be capable of rapidly repointing to observe ultraviolet sources linked to events like gravitational-wave bursts from merging neutron stars.

For more information on NASA’s space telescopes, broader context can be found at NASA’s Universe portal.

UVEX aims to create a modern, multi-wavelength map of the universe and enhance understanding of ultraviolet phenomena in the cosmos.