Planck to deliver its first findings on March 21, 2013

The first all-sky images of the Cosmic Microwave Background will be presented at the press conference held in Paris ESA HQ on March 21, 2013.

Launched in 2009, Planck studies the Cosmic Microwave Background (the relic radiation emitted about 380,000 years after the Big Bang and which is still travelling freely through space) to allow cosmologists to zero-in on theories that describe the Universe's birth and evolution.

Air Liquide got involved in this project during the design phase for the Planck satellite, developing a diluted coolant whose performances have never been achieved until now. The technologies provided by Air Liquide helped reach extremely low temperatures, approaching absolute zero (-273.15°C) in a very tight space environment.