A small particle of rock has struck the primary mirror of the new James Webb Space Telescope.
Dust-sized micrometeoroid damage is having a notable impact on the observatory’s data, but it is not expected to hinder the mission’s overall performance.
James Webb was launched in December to replace the pioneering, but now aging Hubble Space Telescope.
On July 12, astronomers will unveil the first images of the cosmos.
The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) stated that these photographs will not be any less breathtaking in light of recent events.
It appears that the incident occurred between May 23 and May 25.
Analysis suggests that one of the 18 beryllium-gold tiles that comprise the primary reflector of Webb’s 6.5-meter-wide telescope was damaged. The contact marked the segment with a “dimple.”
Due to the speed at which objects travel through space, even the smallest particles can transfer a great deal of energy upon collision. Webb has been struck five times, with the most recent incident being the most consequential.
Webb has an open construction; its mirrors are not protected by a tubular baffle like those found on previous space telescopes, such as Hubble. Instead, the reflectors are positioned beneath a massive sunshade, which helps them to maintain the consistent, frigid temperatures necessary for detecting infrared light.
The risk of micrometeoroid impacts was anticipated, and such possibilities were accounted for in the selection of materials, fabrication of components, and operation modes of the telescope.
Paul Geithner, technical deputy project manager at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said, “We always knew that Webb would have to withstand 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 strikes within our Solar System.”
“We designed and constructed Webb with a performance margin – optical, thermal, electrical, and mechanical – to ensure that it can carry out its ambitious scientific mission even after many years in space.”
Engineers will alter the position of the problematic mirror segment to mitigate some of the induced distortions, but they cannot eliminate them.
Webb is actively collecting data on the nearby and distant cosmos to demonstrate its capabilities. Next month, astronomers will offer these images to the globe.
Long-term, astronomers plan to use Webb to attempt to observe the first stars to illuminate the universe more than 13.5 billion years ago.
They will also focus the large “eye” of the telescope on the atmospheres of distant planets to determine if these worlds are potentially livable.
