WMAP Project Completes Satellite Operations After nine years of
scanning the sky, the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
(WMAP) space mission has concluded its observations of the
cosmic microwave background, the oldest light in the universe.
The spacecraft has not only given scientists their best look at
this remnant glow, but also established the scientific model
that describes the history and structure of the universe. "WMAP
has opened a window into the earliest universe that we could
scarcely imagine a generation ago," said Gary Hinshaw, an
astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md., who manages the mission. "The team is still busy
analyzing the complete nine-year set of data, which the
scientific community eagerly awaits." WMAP was designed to
provide a more detailed look at subtle temperature differences
in the cosmic microwave background that were first detected in
1992 by NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE). The WMAP team
has answered many longstanding questions abou