Consortium institutions: MPE (Germany); UVIE (Austria); KU Leuven, CSL, IMEC (Belgium); CEA, LAM (France); MPIA (Germany); INAFIFSI/OAA/OAP/OAT, LENS, SISSA (Italy); IAC (Spain). The Herschel Space Observatory's mission was a Cornerstone mission in the European Space Agency. This allowed the identification of individual elements and molecules in space, as well as the calculation of how fast objects are moving. Sussex (UK); Caltech, JPL, NHSC, Univ. The Herschel Space Observatory's mission was designed to unveil a face of the early Universe that has remained hidden until now. The 3.5 m telescope was launched in 2009 with three instruments sensitive to radiation at far infrared and sub-millimetre wavelengths allowing Herschel to explore the cold and dusty Universe. While only PACS and SPIRE had cameras, all three instruments utilised spectrometers. Ten countries, including the United States, are participating in its design and implementation. In addition, the spectrometer allowed the detection of gases and molecules present in our Galaxy and in others, shedding more light on the process of star formation. ESA managers considered two options: Chalmers University of Technology – MC2, RSS & GARD, Onsala Space Observatory, Swedish National Space Board, Stockholm University – Stockholm Observatory (Sweden); ETH Zurich, FHNW (Switzerland); Caltech, JPL, NHSC (USA). SPIRE took images in three ‘colours’ but at far-infrared and sub-millimetre wavelengths, providing observations at wavelengths never before attempted from space. HSO is an infrared astronomy mission, the fourth and final “Cornerstone” mission of ESA's (European Space Agency) Horizon 2000 program. Mission Carrying the largest telescope ever flown in space with a main mirror 3.5 m across, Herschel studied the cool Universe at infrared to submillimetre wavelengths. The telescope was decommissioned in April 2013 when it ran out of liquid coolant, as expected. Together, PACS and SPIRE see the whole range of light from far-IR to sub-millimetre, a unique and powerful combination that will not be bettered by any ground or space based mission for decades to come. Number of pixels: 270 (camera), 56 (spectrometer), Resolution: 20-30 arcseconds (camera), 20-50 arcseconds (spectrometer), Principal Investigator: Prof Matt Griffin (Cardiff University, UK). At the time of the announcement, Herschel was approximately 1.5 million km from Earth. Instrument Name: Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer, Wavelength range: 60-210 microns in 3 bands (2 imaged at any time). The formation, evolution, and interrelationship of stars and 22/04/2016 14695 views 179 likes. system's comets and giant planets, and the nature of comet-like Story. Read. It gave scientists their most complete look so far at the large portion of the universe that radiates in far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths.