NASA today announced that one of the segments of the main mirror of the Webb Space Telescope was hit by a micrometeoroide, a small asteroid fragment, between May 23 and 25. Initial evaluations of the telescope found that the spacecraft still functioned exceptionally well, although the effects of the impact were noted on recent data readings.
Micrometeoroids are extremely small (dust-sized) space debris that move quickly. They are a regular part of a hostile space environment that will bombard the Webb telescope throughout its years of operation..
“With Webb’s mirrors exposed in space, we expected that occasional impacts from micrometeoroides will degrade telescope performance over time,” said Lee Feinberg, chief of elements of the Webb Optical Telescope at NASA, in a communiqué from the agency. “Since launch, we’ve had four hits from micrometeoroides smaller measurables that were in line with expectations, and this most recent one is larger than our degradation predictions assumed.”
The Webb reached L2, his observation point in space, late from January. L2 is 1.5 million km from Earth, but that doesn’t mean the telescope is just floating in empty space. Rather, the telescope is in a dynamic part of the solar system with a lot of hostile space weather. In addition to micrometeoroids, there are cosmic rays, charged solar winds, and ultraviolet radiation. All can cause damage to the spaceships.
Fortunately, Paul Geithner, NASA’s deputy technical director for projects, said in the release that “we designed and built the Webb with a performance margin (optical, thermal, electrical, mechanical) to ensure that it can carry out its ambitious scientific mission even after many years in the space”.
The mirrors of Webb are maybe the most essential component of the 10,000 spacecraft millions of dollars. The mirrors focus the light of the cosmos, allowing the Webb obtain images of everything from nearby exoplanets to the oldest light sources in the universe. After the telescope arrived at L2, the mirror went through a long alignment period; beginnings of Mayscientists from Webb said that the alignment of the mirrors was perfect.
When the building was being built Webb, his engineers designed the mirrors to manage los micrometeoroids like the one that recently impacted one of the segments. The telescope can adjust the positions of its mirrors to correct for micrometeoroid impacts, minimizing the effects these collisions can have on the telescope images.
Elarger winds, such as meteor showersare a major nuisance, but the telescope can be oriented away from these events to protect your optical equipment, according to the statement from the NASA. The team, and therefore the Webb seems to be well prepared for the conditions of space at L2.
The first full-color images from the telescope waiting for july 12; although NASA has not announced what will capture the Webb, we know the pictures will show one of the main scientific objectives of the telescope. A couple of dusty micrometeoroids on old mirrors won’t stop the iconic telescope from starting science operations this summer.