The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and SpaceX announced they successfully launched the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions into orbit.

The launch, which was initially delayed due to poor weather and a technical issue, took place aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

According to NASA, SPHEREx, short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, will search for life's essential ingredients in our galaxy and study how the universe evolved. Meanwhile, PUNCH, or the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, will examine the Sun's corona and how it influences solar wind and space weather.