Fermi
Full Name: Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
Phase: Operating
Launch Date: June 11, 2008
Mission Project Home Page: http://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Program(s): Physics of the Cosmos
Fermi, NASA's new gamma-ray observatory, will open a wide window on the universe. Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of light, and the gamma-ray sky is spectacularly different from the one we perceive with our own eyes. With a huge leap in all key capabilities, Fermi data will enable scientists to answer persistent questions across a broad range of topics, including supermassive black-hole systems, pulsars, the origin of cosmic rays, and searches for signals of new physics.
NASA's Fermi (formerly Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST) is a powerful space observatory that will:
- Explore the most extreme environments in the Universe, where nature harnesses energies far beyond anything possible on Earth.
- Search for signs of new laws of physics and what composes the mysterious Dark Matter.
- Explain how black holes accelerate immense jets of material to nearly light speed.
- Help crack the mysteries of the stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts.
- Answer long-standing questions across a broad range of topics, including solar flares, pulsars and the origin of cosmic rays.
NASA's Fermi mission is an astrophysics and particle physics partnership, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, along with important contributions from academic institutions and partners in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the U.S.