The James Webb Space Telescope was hit by a fragment of space rock, which might have affected its sensors.
The science instrument, designed to observe and visually explore the depths of space, was struck by a “micrometeoroid” between May 23 and May 25, according to a Wednesday announcement from NASA. The dust-sized fragment damaged a mirror segment known as C3, one of 18 beryllium-gold tiles that make up the telescope’s primary reflector.
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“We always knew that Webb would have to weather the space environment, which includes harsh ultraviolet light and charged particles from the Sun, cosmic rays from exotic sources in the galaxy, and occasional strikes by micrometeoroids within our solar system,” said Paul Geithner, technical deputy project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in a press statement. “We designed and built Webb with performance margin — optical, thermal, electrical, mechanical — to ensure it can perform its ambitious science mission even after many years in space.”
In late May, Webb sustained a dust-sized micrometeroid impact to a primary mirror segment. Not to worry: Webb is still performing at a level that exceeds all mission requirements. Our first images will #UnfoldTheUniverse on July 12: https://t.co/9jp0uq7ytS pic.twitter.com/VKkSp16yrg
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) June 8, 2022
While the damage is producing a visible effect on the telescope’s data, it is not expected to limit the ability of the Webb Space Telescope to continue observing the cosmos.
Webb’s ability to sense and adjust mirror positions to account for disruptions should also allow the machine to account for all possible damage to its exterior, according to NASA.
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This is not the first time micrometeoroids have hit the telescope. Webb has been struck by four smaller micrometeoroids since its launch, according to Lee Feinberg, Webb’s optical telescope element manager. These impacts will be used to “update our analysis of performance over time and also develop operational approaches to assure we maximize the imaging performance of Webb to the best extent possible for many years to come,” Feinberg said.
Webb was launched into orbit on Dec. 24, 2021, and has been slowly setting itself up as scientists tested the instrument’s observing modes. The telescope’s first images are expected to release on July 12, before it turns its focus to select exoplanets with the hope of observing their heat patterns.
