> > NASA And DOE Collaborate On Dark Energy Research > > > ScienceDaily (Nov. 19, 2008) — NASA and the U.S. Department of > Energy (DOE) have signed a memorandum of understanding for the > implementation of the Joint Dark Energy Mission, or JDEM. The > mission will feature the first space-based observatory designed > specifically to understand the nature of dark energy. > > Dark energy is a form of energy that pervades and dominates the > universe. The mission will measure with high precision the > universe's expansion rate and growth structure. Data from the > mission could help scientists determine the properties of dark > energy, fundamentally advancing physics and astronomy. > "Understanding the nature of dark energy is the biggest challenge > in physics and astronomy today," said Jon Morse, director of > astrophysics at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "JDEM will be a > unique and major contributor in our quest to understand dark energy > and how it has shaped the universe in which we live." One of the > most significant scientific findings in the last decade is that the > expansion of the universe is accelerating. The acceleration is > caused by a previously unknown dark energy that makes up > approximately 70 percent of the total mass energy content of the > universe. This mission has the potential to clarify the properties > of this mass energy. JDEM also will provide scientists with > detailed information for understanding how galaxies form and > acquire their mass. "DOE and NASA have complementary on-going > research into the nature of dark energy and complementary > capabilities to build JDEM, so it is wonderful that our agencies > have teamed for the implementation of this mission," said Dennis > Kovar, associate director of the DOE Office of Science for High > Energy Physics. In 2006, NASA and DOE jointly funded a National > Research Council study by the Beyond Einstein Program Assessment > Committee to assist NASA in determining the highest priority of the > five proposed missions in its Beyond Einstein program. In September > 2007, the committee released its report and noted that JDEM will > set the standard in precisely determining the distribution of dark > energy in the distant universe. The committee recommended that JDEM > be the first of NASA's Beyond Einstein missions to be developed and > launched. Following the committee's report, NASA and DOE agreed to > proceed with JDEM. The importance of understanding dark energy also > has been emphasized in a number of other significant reports from > the National Research Council, the National Science and Technology > Council, and the Dark Energy Task Force. For more information about > JDEM, including the signed memorandum of understanding, visit: > http://jdem.gsfc.nasa.gov > > Adapted from materials provided by NASA. > > http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081119171826.htm >
