Context
Dark energy, the mysterious force driving the accelerated expansion of the universe, remains one of the greatest enigmas in modern cosmology. The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) project has achieved a major milestone in modern cosmology by creating the largest-ever three-dimensional map of the universe, charting the positions and distances of over six million galaxies. Installed on the Mayall Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in the United States, DESI is designed to investigate dark energy.
DESI’s scientific excellence has been recognized by two major international awards. In November 2024, the project received TIME magazine’s Best Innovation Award for its groundbreaking contributions to astronomy and cosmology. In August 2025, the American Astronomical Society awarded the 2026 Lancelot M. Berkeley–New York Community Trust Prize to the DESI collaboration, honoring two landmark BAO studies based on first-year data and on observations of 14 million galaxies and quasars collected over three years.
