Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, or WMAP for short, is like a big satellite that was sent up into space to study something called the "cosmic microwave background radiation".

This radiation is energy left over from the very beginning of the universe, almost 14 billion years ago! Think of it like a snapshot of what the universe looked like at that time.

So the WMAP satellite flew around in space, using special instruments to measure the temperature of this radiation coming from all directions in the sky. This is important because it helped us learn more about the history and evolution of the universe.

Scientists used the data collected by WMAP to create maps showing areas of different temperatures in the cosmic microwave background radiation. They were able to learn a lot about things like how old the universe is, how quickly it is expanding, and what it is made of.

So basically, the WMAP satellite helped us learn more about the very beginning of the universe by studying leftover energy from that time.