Europe will launch a powerful telescope into space on Saturday to explore the mysteries of the "dark universe".
The €1.4 billion ($1.53 billion) Euclid telescope will be fired into orbit by a rocket from Elon Musk’s SpaceX after the war in Ukraine scuppered plans to take off on a Russian Soyuz launcher.
Euclid will look 10 billion years into the past to build what the European Space Agency calls the largest, most accurate 3D map of the universe ever produced.
Its mission is to reconstruct how space has expanded at an ever-faster rate and shed light on the "dark energy" that is believed to be the universe’s secret growth hormone.
The two-tonne spacecraft is a scaled-down version of Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope, which launched in 2021 and can zoom into some of the earliest galaxies ever formed.
Asked by The National what Europe’s telescope had to offer, Rene Laureijs, a scientist on the project, said Euclid could map a vast area of space and relay the information to Webb to investigate more closely.
“What Euclid can do is surf the sky and find exotic objects,” he said.
“It would be beautiful if the two telescopes are online and that James Webb could follow up the new findings of Euclid.”
SpaceX launch
Euclid is due to take off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral at 11.12am local time on Saturday.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 launcher was brought on board for the launch after Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, cut ties with Russia.
Hopes that the war in Ukraine would end quickly enough for work with Russia to resume proved short-lived.
An alternative to Russia’s Soyuz, the French-led Ariane 6 launcher, was hit by delays in what has been described as a crisis in Europe’s access to space.
“We were really left completely in nowhere-land without any launcher,” said Euclid’s project manager Giuseppe Racca at a pre-launch briefing.
“It was an incredibly tense period because we had in front of us the prospect of having to store the spacecraft for two years or more. It was really a big relief to be able to launch from Cape Canaveral instead of Kourou.”
After launch, Euclid – named after an Ancient Greek mathematician – will head for a vantage point about 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth known as Lagrange 2.
It has a shield that can permanently block the Sun’s light while its telescope points into deep space. An expected six-year survey of the universe will begin three months after launch.
What Mr Racca calls a “cosmic embarrassment” is that known matter such as galaxies, stars and so on make up only five per cent of the universe.
“Ninety-five per cent is made of other things which we don’t really know,” he said.
Another conundrum is that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, a fact unknown until the age of the Hubble Space Telescope in the 1990s.
Cosmologists have put forward the idea that there is “dark energy”, a mysterious repulsive force that pushes out the boundaries of the universe.
Euclid’s map of the sky is meant to reconstruct the history of the universe over 10 billion years and provide an unrivalled “gold mine” of data to help solve these cosmic riddles.
“We would like to know why dark energy dominates the mass-energy content of the universe today, and what will be the ultimate destiny of the universe,” said Yannick Melier, an astronomer at the Paris Institute of Astrophysics.
“We expect from Euclid’s information to know whether there is a revolution in our understanding of the physical laws of nature. Euclid will probe the distribution of dark matter and the distribution of galaxies to an unprecedented precision from space.”
Euclid is the latest ambitious European Space Agency mission after a spacecraft bound for Jupiter set off in April.
The agency has spoken of its dream of a crewed European-led voyage taking off with astronauts from Africa, Asia and South America.
Nasa will launch its inquiry into dark energy when the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope joins Euclid in the sky around 2027. US scientists also helped design Euclid’s equipment and tested components at a Nasa flight centre.
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Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE
1. Liverpool 101 points
2. Manchester City 80
3. Leicester 67
4. Chelsea 63
5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
8. Arsenal 56
9. Sheffield United 55
10. Everton 50
11. Burnley 49
12. Crystal Palace 49
13. Newcastle 46
14. Southampton 44
15. West Ham 39
16. Brighton 37
17. Watford 36
18. Bournemouth 36
19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
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World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
Sarfira
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Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
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Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Company%20Profile
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Coal Black Mornings
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Little Brown Book Group
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
