NASA to launch new mission to help build 3D map of Milky Way

NASA is preparing to launch a new mission that will stare at the space between stars, helping build a 3D map of our Milky Way galaxy, reported Xinhua, quoting the agency.

The GUSTO mission, which stands for Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory, will launch from the Ross Ice Shelf, near the U.S. National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station research base, no earlier than Dec. 21, according to NASA.

High up in atmosphere above Antarctica, GUSTO, a balloon-borne telescope, will peer into the space between stars called the interstellar medium.

The telescope will help scientists make a 3D map of a large part of the Milky Way in extremely high-frequency radio waves, according to NASA.

Examining a 100-square-degree area, GUSTO will explore the many phases of the interstellar medium and the abundances of key chemical elements in the galaxy.

"By studying the LMC (Large Magellanic Cloud) and comparing it to the Milky Way, we'll be able to understand how galaxies evolve from the early universe until now," said GUSTO principal investigator Chris Walker.