June 12, 2001

Dolores Beasley
Headquarters
Washington, DC
Phone: 202/358-1753

Nancy Neal
Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD
Phone: 301/286-0039

RELEASE: 01-104

NASA TO "MAP" BIG BANG REMNANT TO SOLVE UNIVERSAL MYSTERIES

The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP), scheduled for launch June 30, will journey into deep space on a voyage to explore some of the deepest mysteries of the cosmos.

Scientists hope to determine the content, shape, history, and the ultimate fate of the universe, by constructing a full-sky picture of the oldest light. MAP is designed to capture the afterglow of the Big Bang, which comes to us from a time well before there were any stars, galaxies or quasars. Patterns imprinted within this afterglow carry with them the answers to mysteries such as: What happened during the first instant after the Big Bang? How did the Universe evolve into the complex patterns of galaxies that we see today? Will the Universe expand forever or will it collapse?

MAP Reaches Second Lagrange Point (L2) (images of MAP)

To answer these questions, MAP's measured pattern of the Big Bang's afterglow, like a fingerprint, will be compared against the unique fingerprint pattern predicted by each cosmic scenario to find the right match. "We are tremendously excited about this mission
because it will help answer basic questions that people have been asking for ages," said Dr. Charles L. Bennett, Principal Investigator for the MAP mission at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. "MAP's unprecedented accuracy and precision will allow us to determine the nature and destiny of the universe."
(Full Release)

Dan