South Korea and the United States are set to launch the world's first space observatory capable of observing infrared rays that are difficult to be seen on land.

The SPHEREx, jointly developed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute and U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA), will launch from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base at noon on February 28, Korea time.

The SPHEREx will be tasked to observe the entire sky in 102 colors and to produce the world's first infrared three-dimensional map of the space.

The observatory is anticipated to offer clues to what caused post-big bang space inflation through measurement of over one billion galaxy distributions.

The project will also seek to measure the total volume of galaxy lights to reveal the truth behind galaxy formation and evolution, and to map distribution of water and carbon dioxide that exist in the form of ice in our galaxy to find the environment where living things can exist.