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.
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Identity
- Aliases
- WMAPMicrowave Anisotropy ProbeMAP
- Name
- Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
- Slug
- 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.
- 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.
- Program
- Medium-Class Explorers
- 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
- July 18, 2026 at 14:24:01 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles