The period after the Big Bang, when the universe was in its infancy and the first stars to shine into existence, is one of the most mysterious chapters in the history of the universe.
If astronomers can study those chaotic, primeval days of the early universe, they may begin to learn more about how the universe evolved over more than 13 billion years. They may eventually understand what extraordinary forces gave rise to stars, galaxies, black holes and planets – including worlds beyond Earth that could support life.
Yet even with the most sophisticated observatories in space and on the ground, scientists lacked the means to observe the oldest and most distant objects in the universe.
That is, till now.
NASA is set to launch humanity’s largest and most powerful telescope into space, called James Webb Space Telescope, The tennis court-sized observatory, set to lift off on Saturday from a European spacecraft in French Guiana, will be able to look into space in more detail than any telescope that has come before it.
NASA bills the mission as an “Apollo moment”—a giant leap that could revolutionize our understanding of the universe and humanity’s place in it.
“It’s kind of a cliché to say that this is going to change the course of astronomy, but it very well may do so,” said Marcia Riecke, an astronomer at the University of Arizona.
Riecke has led the development of one of the Webb telescope’s four main instruments over the past 20 years, a specially designed infrared camera called the NIRcam. He said that Webb could unlock the secrets of the early universe, from 100 million years after the Big Bang. It can also observe exoplanets with instruments sensitive enough to study their atmospheres, looking for possible biosignatures of alien life.
For all its potential benefits, the mission is one of NASA’s most daring ones.
risky business
After launch, the Webb telescope will spend about a month traveling to a point in orbit around the Sun, about 1 million miles from Earth.
The observatory’s destination is known as the second Lagrange, or L2 point and was chosen because the telescope can remain in a stable orbit with one side of the telescope permanently facing Earth and the Sun. It helps shield the telescope’s instruments from heat and light that can interfere with its observation.
But a million miles away, NASA won’t be able to send astronauts to upgrade or repair the telescope if anything goes wrong. Astronauts made the famous tour of the Hubble Space Telescope in low-Earth orbit between 1993 and 2009 on five different servicing missions. This time it will not be an option, said Greg Robinson, Webb’s program director at NASA.
“There’s no help along the way,” Robinson said. “Once it leaves the planet, it’s on its own.”
next generation space telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope is a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. First proposed more than 30 years ago, the observatory is designed to help astronomers piece together how the modern universe came to be.
But the project has not been without controversy. During its development, the telescope spent billions of dollars in budget and more than a decade behind schedule. For the thousands of scientists and engineers around the world involved with the project, it has been a long and often bumpy journey.
Now, the web is finally ready for launch.
The observatory will build on the legacy of the iconic Hubble Space Telescope, which has been operating since 1990. Although Hubble is responsible for decades of scientific discoveries and some of the most jaw-dropping images of the universe, including the famous Pillar Formation, the telescope is limited in what it can see — and how far.
The Webb telescope’s primary mirror, which collects and focuses light from objects in the universe, will be the largest to fly in space.