Euclid publishes Data Release 1 – Foundation

ESA's Euclid mission has published Data Release 1 – Foundation. The release is based on 13 months of observations and is the foundation for the largest 3D map of the universe.

The published release covers 1,900 square degrees and represents 14% of Euclid's six-year sky census. It contains 900,000,000 galaxies and 160,000,000 spectroscopic sources.

It includes over 70,000 near-infrared images and 15,000 strong gravitational lens candidates. The release also includes galaxy groups and clusters, such as Superammasso dell’Orologio and M81 group galaxies.

Euclid is an ESA mission launched in 2023. It uses VIS and NISP instruments to scan one third of the sky, and the mission concerns dark matter and dark energy.

The release is 30 times larger than the previous Euclid release. It draws on 13 months of observations and is the foundation for the largest 3D map of the universe.

Italy is a partner in Euclid. Gianluca Polenta of the Space Science Data Center dell’ASI is responsible for the NIR image processing software team, while Marco Frailis of INAF is responsible for the Italian Science Data Center of Euclid. Science Data Center italiano is credited with complex NISP analysis software design and optimization, INFN and INAF are partners in NISP in-flight management, and Stefano Dusini is affiliated with INFN.

For readers tracking the lunar industry, the verified facts make this a published ESA mission milestone. The release quantifies Euclid's survey coverage after 13 months, with 1,900 square degrees, or 14% of the six-year census, and identifies Italian teams and data centers involved in processing and analysis.