Artistic concept of the Webb space telescope. It was launched in December 2021. NASA said in June 2022 that a larger-than-expected micrometeoroid blow has marked a segment of the telescope’s primary mirror. So far, it looks like the telescope will still work as expected. This is a relief, as a solution would be difficult; the telescope orbits at the point L-2, 4 times the distance from the Moon to the Earth. Image via Northrop Grumman / Canadian Space Agency.
Webb in micrometeoroid blow
A micrometeoroid strike in late May 2022 marked one of the primary mirror segments of the Hubble Space Telescope James Webb, NASA’s successor, NASA said Wednesday, June 8, 2022. Webb operators had expected the micrometeroids to impact. But the power of this particular strike, the fifth since the launch of the instrument, was greater than expected by its operators. NASA said its engineers will have to adjust the instrument to compensate for unexpected early damage. Meanwhile, NASA reported in a blog post:
After initial evaluations, the team found that the telescope was still operating at a level that exceeded all mission requirements despite a marginally detectable effect on the data. Exhaustive analysis and measurements are ongoing.
Is there talk of replacing the mirror segment? No, and there probably won’t be. The damage doesn’t seem to be big enough for such a drastic step. And the telescope is orbiting far from Earth, a million miles (1.6 million km) from Earth, at point L-2 of the Earth-Sun system.
Micrometeoroid impacts are expected
The title of the June 8 NASA blog post announcing the micrometeoroid attack is Webb: Engineered to Endure Micrometeororoid Impacts. The publication quoted Lee Feinberg, director of elements of the Webb optical telescope at NASA Goddard, as saying:
With Webb mirrors on display in space, we hoped that the occasional impact of micrometeoroids would gracefully degrade the telescope’s performance over time. 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 will use this flight data to update our performance analysis over time and also develop operational approaches to ensure that we maximize Webb’s image performance to the best extent possible for many years to come.
Webb operators believe the latest strike took place between May 23 and 25.
Designed to be durable
Engineers designed the Webb telescope to be rugged. In fact, he underwent full tests to mimic the conditions he will experience beyond the Earth’s orbit. NASA says Webb is designed to withstand lifetime damage and remain operational. The NASA blog post quoted Paul Geithner, deputy technical director of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center project, as saying:
We always knew that Webb should tame the space environment, which includes harsh ultraviolet light and charged particles from the sun, cosmic rays from exotic sources in the galaxy, and occasional micrometeoroid blows within our solar system. 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.
Micrometeoroid shock compensation
Since engineers predicted such damage to Webb, ground drivers can compensate a bit. They can do this, for example, by repositioning the mirror segment. NASA said:
Engineers have already made such a first adjustment for the recently affected C3 segment, and the planned additional adjustments of the mirror will continue to fine-tune this correction. These steps will be repeated as needed in response to future events as part of telescope monitoring and maintenance throughout the mission.
Webb’s first scientific findings will be published on July 12
The current period is stressful for Webb operators. The instrument is currently being prepared for six months before its primary data collection begins. The first full-color images of the telescope will be released on July 12, 2022.
Significantly, this date should mark the beginning of a new era of understanding the universe around us. Eric Smith, a Webb program scientist at NASA’s Washington headquarters, said:
As we approach the end of the observatory’s preparation for science, we are on the precipice of an incredibly exciting period of discovery about our universe. The launch of Webb’s first full-color images will provide a unique moment for us all to stop and marvel at a sight that humanity has never seen before.
These images will be the culmination of decades of dedication, talent and dreams, but they will also be just the beginning.
Technicians are preparing the Webb telescope for launch in December 2021. Beneath the ring of the earth is the Ariane 5 rocket that launched it into space for its journey to L2. This point in space, the second Lagrangian point, is where, in the Earth-Sun system, the gravitational forces and orbital motion of a body balance each other. Thus, an object can “fly” with relative ease to L2. But L2 is far, almost 1 million miles (1.5 million km) behind the Earth as seen from the sun. This is about 4 times the distance from the moon. Image via ESA.
Conclusion: A micrometeoroid blow slightly damaged one of the segments of the primary mirror of the Webb telescope. Fortunately, the instrument still works beyond the parameters of the mission. His first full-color images will be released on July 12, 2022.
Dave Adalian
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Journalist and publisher Dave Adalian’s love story with the cosmos began during a long summer school trip to the historic and venerable Lick Observatory on top of Mount Hamilton in California, east of San Jose, in the fog Devil’s Range and well above Monterey Bay. the edge of the infinite blue Pacific Ocean. This excursion continues today, as Dave still pursues his nocturnal adventures, standing in the dark in front of his telescope’s eyepiece or chasing wandering stars through the fields of the night like an observer with the naked eye. A lifelong resident of Tulare County, California, an agricultural paradise where the Great San Joaquin Valley meets the Sierra Nevada in endless miles of grassy foothills, Dave grew up in a desert larger than Delaware and Rhode. Island together, a drowning with the greatest diversity. of flora and fauna in the United States, which spends its nights under a black sky like earth that rises above some of the highest mountain peaks and the largest roadless areas in the Americas. Dave studied English, American literature, and mass communication at the College of the Sequoias and at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has worked as a reporter and editor for various online and offline news publications for a career spanning nearly 30 years to date. His most cherished literary hope is to share his passion for astronomy and all things cosmic with anyone who wants to join the adventure and explore the past, present, and future of the universe.