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Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe

NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe measured minute temperature and polarization variations across the cosmic microwave background. Operating near the Sun–Earth L2 point, the observatory produced full-sky maps that enabled precise estimates of the universe's age, geometry, and composition.

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
NASA/WMAP Science Team · The exact NASA mission page https://science.nasa.gov/mission/wmap/ identifies this 3600x2400 artist concept of the WMAP spacecraft, credits NASA/WMAP Science Team, and links the exact asset at https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/wmap-mission-9a656de-jpeg.webp. NASA Images and Media Usage Guidelines state that NASA content generally is not subject to copyright in the United States and may be used for factual or informational purposes with NASA acknowledgment. Commercial use must not imply NASA endorsement; NASA insignia, logotype, and identifiers are protected. NASA may host third-party material with separate rights, so any separately identified third-party material requires its own permission. This credit records the asset-level NASA source and does not imply endorsement or grant rights to NASA identifiers. · Source
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Identity

Aliases
WMAPMicrowave Anisotropy ProbeMAP
Name
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
Status
completed

Details

Astronauts
-
Description
NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe measured minute temperature and polarization variations across the cosmic microwave background. Operating near the Sun–Earth L2 point, the observatory produced full-sky maps that enabled precise estimates of the universe's age, geometry, and composition.
Destination
Sun–Earth L2 libration-point orbit approximately one million miles beyond Earth for mapping the cosmic microwave background and measuring conditions in the early universe
End Date
2010-08-19
Launch Site
Outcome
WMAP completed nine years of observations and transformed precision cosmology. Its measurements tightly constrained the universe's age, spatial geometry, and proportions of ordinary matter, dark matter, and dark energy.
Programs
Start Date
2001-06-30
Vehicle Families

Links

Official Url
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/wmap/

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
July 18, 2026 at 14:24:01 UTC
Updated Time
August 23, 2026 at 19:42:09 UTC
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Affiliations
Search Name
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe WMAP Microwave Anisotropy Probe MAP
Space Stations
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