One of the 18 golden segments in the giant mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope was struck by a micrometeoroid, according to a NASA update.
But even though the space observatory said it happened in May, it is still on track to share its first full-resolution high-resolution images from the telescope on July 12th.
A micrometeoroid is a particle in space that is smaller than a grain of sand. The Earth’s atmosphere is affected by millions of meteoroids and micrometeoroids on a regular basis, but most vaporize when they reach the atmosphere, according to NASA.
The James Webb Space Telescope fully assembled with its parasol and attached pallet structures that will fold around the telescope for launch. (NASA)
But spacecraft do not have a bubble of protective atmosphere around them, so it is almost impossible to avoid these impacts.
The Webb telescope suffered this impact between May 23 and 25, but “the telescope continues to operate at a level that exceeds all mission requirements despite a marginally detectable effect on the data,” according to Webb’s team.
The team continues to analyze and evaluate what happened and how it may affect the performance of the telescope. It is also likely to be the first of many such experiences Webb will have over his time in space.
When the telescope and its massive mirror were built and tested on Earth, engineers made sure that the mirror could survive the micrometeoroid environment that the spacecraft would experience in its orbit a million miles from Earth. at a point called L2, where the dust particles accelerate. at extreme speeds.
Webb was tested while on Earth, and the team used both simulations and test impacts on mirror samples to understand what he would face.
The May impact event was larger than anything the team tested or could have modeled while Webb was still on the ground.
“We always knew that Webb would have to cope with the space environment, which includes harsh ultraviolet light and charged particles from the Sun, cosmic rays from exotic galaxy sources, and occasional micrometeoroid strikes within our solar system,” said Paul Geithner. technician. The deputy director of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center project in Greenbelt, Maryland said in a statement.
“We have designed and built Webb with a range of performance: optical, thermal, electrical, mechanical, to ensure that it can carry out its ambitious scientific mission even after many years in space.”
NASA released an image captured by the Webb Telescope using its Infrared Media Instrument (MIRI). (NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI)
Fortunately, each hexagonal mirror segment is fully adjustable and the impacted segment has already been adjusted to reduce some of the distortion. This is something that engineers may continue to do in the future as they monitor the Webb mirror for any signs of degradation in the space environment.
Webb’s flight crew is already moving the spacecraft’s mirror away from known events, such as meteor showers, to protect the telescope’s optics. But that impact, which was not part of a meteor shower, was unforeseen and “an inevitable accidental event,” according to NASA.
“As a result of this impact, a specialized team of engineers has been formed to look for ways to mitigate the effects of new micrometeoroid shocks of this scale,” according to a statement from the agency.
Webb’s team will work closely with micrometeoroid prediction experts at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. and Webb will be able to help NASA scientists learn more about the dusty environment of the solar system at this point of orbit, which may help prepare them for future missions.
“With Webb mirrors exposed in space, we expected the occasional impact of micrometeoroids to gracefully degrade the telescope’s performance over time,” said Lee Feinberg, Webb Optical Telescope’s element manager at NASA Goddard. a statement.
NASA’s new telescope captures “unprecedented” details.
“Since launch, we’ve had four times smaller measurable micrometeoroids that were consistent with expectations, and this one more recently is larger than our degradation predictions assumed. We’ll use this flight data to update our performance analysis over time. and to develop operational approaches to ensure that we maximize Webb’s image performance to the best of our ability for many years to come. “
Webb has already exceeded expectations since its launch in December, and the telescope is preparing for the start of scientific operations.
Webb will be able to look into the atmospheres of exoplanets and observe some of the first galaxies created after the universe began observing them through infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye.