Micrometeoroid strikes are an unavoidable aspect of operating any spacecraft, which routinely sustain many impacts over the course of long and productive science missions in space. Between May 23 and 25, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope sustained an impact to one of its primary mirror segments. After initial assessments, the team found the telescope is …
The Webb team continues to commission the 17 science instrument modes. This week we asked Nathalie Ouellette of the Université de Montréal to give more detail about the modes of the Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS), Canada's scientific instrument on Webb. "NIRISS will be able to capture both images and spectra from different types …
The Webb team continues to work on commissioning the science instruments, the final step before starting science operations in the summer. We recently saw the beautiful image of the black hole in the center of our Milky Way galaxy, taken by the Event Horizon Telescope. One of the puzzles of modern astronomy is how every …
As NASA's James Webb Space Telescope moves through the final phases of commissioning its science instruments, we have also begun working on technical operations of the observatory. While the telescope moves through space, it will constantly find distant stars and galaxies and point at them with extreme precision to acquire images and spectra. However, we …
With the telescope optics and instruments aligned, the Webb team is now commissioning the observatory's four powerful science instruments. There are 17 different instrument "modes" to check out on our way to getting ready for the start of science this summer. Once we have approved all 17 of these modes, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope …
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is aligned across all four of its science instruments, as seen in a previous engineering image showing the observatory's full field of view. Now, we take a closer look at that same image, focusing on Webb's coldest instrument: the Mid-Infrared Instrument, or MIRI. The MIRI test image (at 7.7 microns) …
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is now experiencing all seasons – from hot to cold – as it undergoes the thermal stability test. Meanwhile, activities are underway for the final phase of commissioning: digging into the details of the science instruments, the heart of Webb. To complete commissioning, we will measure the detailed performance of …
On May 1, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service announced the 2022 finalists for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal (Sammies) – an awards program honoring excellence and innovation in federal service. Among the finalists is Gregory L. Robinson, program director for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA Headquarters. Selected from …
Completion of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's optical alignment has moved us into the final phase of commissioning the Science Instruments. During this final phase the Webb team and instrument scientists will test all the modes and operations for the four science instruments to measure their performance, calibration, and overall observatory operations. While the mirrors …
Alignment of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is now complete. After full review, the observatory has been confirmed to be capable of capturing crisp, well-focused images with each of its four powerful onboard science instruments. Upon completing the seventh and final stage of telescope alignment, the team held a set of key decision meetings and …
