Sunshield being assembled with the solar array

The Herschel spacecraft’s sunshield being assembled with the solar array. This picture was taken on 11 April 2008 at ESA's European Space Research and Technology Centre, ESTEC.

The Herschel infrared observatory will make it possible to observe and study relatively cool objects everywhere in the universe, from our own back yard to distant galaxies, teaching us much more about the birth and evolution of stars and galaxies.