Watch: ‘Dark explorer’ telescope launched into space

The Euclid telescope has successfully launched into space on a mission to understand some of the Universe’s greatest mysteries.

The €1.4bn (£1.2bn) telescope was primed to go up on a Falcon-9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Saturday.

Euclid’s goal is to make an immense 3D map of the cosmos in a bid to better understand so-called dark matter and dark energy.

Researchers know virtually nothing about these phenomena, which appear to control the structure and expansion of the cosmos.

Although primarily a European Space Agency project, the mission also has significant scientific and engineering inputs from the US space agency Nasa.

Euclid will carry out its work from an observing position on the opposite side of our planet to the Sun.