Euclid Space Telescope

Euclid is a telescope by the European Space Agency planned for launch on SpaceX's Falcon 9 in July. It is a cosmology mission that will help us unravel key questions about dark energy and dark matter: what is the universe made of? why is its expansion accelerating? what is dark matter made of? is there an alternative theory of gravity? More than two thousand astronomers and cosmologists from around the world are working around the clock to answer these questions.

I am a professional astronomer and have been working on the development of this incredible project for the last 10 years. I am excited about science and Lego and so I desired to build a mini model to celebrate the launch and promote knowledge about astronomy among children. This work was initially motivated by the outreach programme at my institution.

I believe space is not only about rockets. It is about all the great science we can do in our own solar system and up to the edge of the universe itself, and the many people across the world contributing to it. This model is made of just 17 pieces and can be built by small children. It comes with a stand (a base and adjustable arm), the Euclid telescope (tube, solar panel, antennas, and instruments), and stickers (solar panel and ESA mission logo), ready to be displayed proudly on your desk.

I hope the building of this mini model will help children and grown-ups get passionate about astronomy and cosmology.

Credits for background image: ESA & Ma, Ebeling, Barrett (2009)