NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope to retire in 2020

Washington: NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope will be switched off permanently on January 30, 2020, after nearly 16 years of exploring the cosmos in infrared light, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said in a statement. By then, the spacecraft will have operated for more than 11 years beyond its prime mission, Xinhua reported. Managed and operated by JPL, Spitzer is a small but transformational observa­tory. It captures infrared light, which is often emitted by “warm” objects that are not quite hot enough to radiate visible light.