The James Webb Space Telescope has for the first time peered inside a planet-forming disk of dust surrounding a nearby star, a development promising to supercharge the search for exoplanets.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope‘s near-infrared camera (NIRCam), a team of astronomers led by Kellen Lawson, a postdoctoral program fellow at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, observed the surroundings of a red dwarf star known as AU Microscopii or AU Mic.
Red dwarfs are rather unassuming stars that make up the largest population of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Most of the time, red dwarf stars are too faint to see in the visible light, which is why observing them in the heat-carrying infrared wavelengths, those that Webb specializes in, is useful. Astronomers have known that AU Mic is surrounded by a planet-forming disk of gas and dust and have previously discovered two exoplanets orbiting the star thanks to the star’s periodic dimming caused by the planets’ crossing in front of the star, which was detected by NASA’s exoplanet hunter TESS.
Related: James Webb Space Telescope’s 1st year in space has blown astronomers away
Various teams have made attempts to peer inside the disk using Earth-based telescopes as well as Webb’s predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope. These telescopes, however, mostly detecting visible light, couldn’t match Webb’s dust penetrating abilities.
“Our first look at the data far exceeded expectations,” Josh Schlieder, the study’s co-author, said in a statement (opens in new tab). “It was more detailed than we expected. It was brighter than we expected. We detected the disk closer in than we expected. We’re hoping that as we dig deeper, there’s going to be some more surprises that we hadn’t predicted.”
Infrared light has longer wavelengths than visible light and is less scattered by dust, providing a window into these otherwise obscured regions of the universe. The team was able to study the disk thanks to a coronagraph mounted on NIRCam, which can block the star’s light, allowing the astronomers to search for very faint objects as close as 5 astronomical units from the star (1 astronomical unit equals the distance between the sun and Earth which is 460 million miles or 740 million km).
“This is the first time that we really have sensitivity to directly observe planets with wide orbits that are significantly lower in mass than Jupiter and Saturn,” Lawson said the statement. “This really is new, uncharted territory in terms of direct imaging around low-mass stars.”
Exoplanets are extremely difficult to observe directly because they are so much fainter than the stars they orbit. Webb made headlines in September when it directly imaged its first exoplanet, one orbiting a star called HIP 65426 located some 385 light-years from Earth. That exoplanet, however, lives very far from its parent star (much farther than the solar system’s outermost planet Neptune lives from the sun), and is also extremely massive, about 12 times the size of the solar system’s largest planet Jupiter.
The latest observations of AU Mic’s debris disk promise that even much smaller planets could have their picture taken by Webb in the future.
So far, Webb didn’t manage to take a direct image of an exoplanet orbiting AU Mic, but past research (opens in new tab) uncovered “numerous fast moving clumps” in the debris disk that may have been produced by a yet unknown object, Lawson said in a news conference.
While analysis of the disk is still ongoing, Lawson told reporters that the disk has a definitive blue color. This finding is consistent with previous studies and indicates that the disk is made of small dust grains, causing it to be brighter at shorter wavelengths.
Webb, which can detect infrared wavelengths from 0.6 to 5 microns, clicked these images at 3.56 and 4.44 microns. This marks “the first time the disk has been detected at these wavelengths,” Lawson told reporters at the press conference.
AU Mic is cosmologically nearby at less than 32 light-years and relatively young at roughly 23 million years old. It is also one of the rare systems whose debris disk or “birth ring” — a remnant of planet formation still actively replenished by ongoing collisions of small bodies — is nearly edge-on when seen from Earth.
This provides astronomers a hot seat to search for planets, given that most have tilted orbits and would come into view at some point in their revolutions around AU Mic.
Lawson said Webb’s capabilities and the study’s goal to focus on faint red dwarfs “provided access not just to new types of exoplanets but to exoplanets much more like the outer planets of our own solar system.”
The observations of AU Mic were part of a wider campaign focusing on nine nearby red dwarf stars. The team shared the results on Wednesday (Jan. 11) at the annual conference of the American Astronomical Society.
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Webb’s New Star-Filled “Pillars of Creation” Image
A new Webb Space Telescope image of the iconic Pillars of Creation – a star factory of sorts – is visually stunning and could help us better understand how stars form within clouds of gas and interstellar dust.
Astronaut Scott Tingle takes a closer look at rock formations at Black Point Lava Flow, Arizona during a simulated spacewalk on day 5 of NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) in 2011. The upcoming DRATS mission is a reboot of a program that conducted analog missions from 1997-2012. Credit: NASA/Regan Geeseman
Practicing Artemis Moonwalks in the Arizona Desert
An analog mission this month to practice lunar operations near Flagstaff, Arizona will provide crucial data for future Artemis Moon missions. Learn more about analog missions at nasa.gov/analogs.
On October 16, 2022, Lucy flew by the Earth like a partner in a swing dance, boosting its speed and elongating its orbit around the Sun. At 7:04 am, Eastern Time, Lucy made its closest approach at just 219 miles above the planet: lower than the International Space Station. This exceptionally close shave will increase its velocity by four-and-a-half miles per second, setting Lucy on track to gain even more speed when it returns to Earth for its second gravity assist in December 2024. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Lucy Spacecraft Gets Gravity Assist from Earth
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft swung back by Earth on October 16, exactly one year after its launch. The close flyby also gave Lucy the first of several gravity assists it needs from Earth to reach the never-before-visited Trojan asteroids that share an orbit with
With 14 electric motors turning propellers and all of them integrated into a uniquely-designed wing, NASA will test new propulsion technology using an experimental airplane now designated the X-57 and nicknamed “Maxwell.” Credit: NASA Langley/Advanced Concepts Lab, AMA, Inc.
X-57 Maxwell Aircraft Gets Powered Up
Lithium-ion battery packs installed in NASA’s all-electric X-57 Maxwell aircraft successfully powered the plane’s motors. This important milestone brings the experimental plane a step closer to first flight.
Astronaut James A. McDivitt, shown here in his official 1971 portrait, died on October 13, 2022. McDivitt commanded Gemini IV, the second crewed Gemini flight, and Apollo 9, which tested the first lunar module in Earth orbit. Credit: NASA
NASA Astronaut James McDivitt Dies at Age 93
Former NASA astronaut Jim McDivitt, who commanded the Gemini IV and Apollo 9 missions, died on October 13. Jim McDivitt was 93 years old.
NASA released new snaps of Jupiter taken by the James Webb Space Telescope in August.
The Hubble Space Telescope has also taken Jupiter images, but Webb reveals details Hubble couldn’t see.
Astronomers say Webb’s images give a more complete view of Jupiter’s auroras, rings, and moons.
While the Hubble Space Telescope has been snapping gorgeous photos of Jupiter for decades, new Jupiter images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope in August, invite comparison. Studied side by side, Webb’s shots reveal stunning new details of the gas giant that Hubble couldn’t detect.
“JWST isn’t giving us something clearer than Hubble here, but it is giving us something different,” James O’Donoghue, a planetary scientist from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, told Insider. “I think of JWST as giving us an extra sense.”
Often described as the successor to Hubble, Webb launched on December 25, 2021, after more than two decades of development. Since that time, the $10 billion telescope has traveled more than 1 million miles from Earth and is now stationed in a gravitationally stable orbit, collecting infrared light and peering at objects whose light was emitted more than 13.5 billion years ago, which Hubble can’t see. This is because this light has been shifted into the infrared wavelengths that Webb is specifically designed to detect.
The result: Compared to Hubble, Webb offers sharper and crisper images, and new details of Jupiter’s auroras, storm systems, rings, and tiny moons.
Webb captured the new Jupiter images using its Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam), which translates infrared light into colors the human eye can see. The image of Jupiter taken by Webb, above right, was artificially colored to make specific features stand out. Red coloring highlights the planet’s stunning auroras, while light reflected from clouds appears blue. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot — an enormous storm that has been swirling for centuries — is so bright with reflected sunlight that it appears white.
The Hubble Space Telescope can also spot spot Jupiter’s auroras when capturing ultraviolet light. In the above left image, Hubble captured optical observations of the planet’s northern lights in a composite.
Still, Webb’s infrared image shows the auroras in greater detail, lighting up both the planet’s poles.
Auroras are colorful displays of light that are not unique to Earth. Jupiter has the brightest auroras in the solar system, according to NASA. On both Earth and Jupiter, auroras occur when charged particles, such as protons or electrons, interact with the magnetic field — known as the magnetosphere — that surrounds a planet. Jupiter’s magnetic field is about 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s.
In his research, O’Donoghue studies Jupiter’s upper atmosphere, several thousand miles above the clouds you can see in visible images. “With JWST, we can see Jupiter’s infrared auroras in the extended upper atmosphere above the planet,” O’Donoghue said.
While Hubble can spot Jupiter’s auroras when capturing ultraviolet light, Webb’s infrared image shows the auroras in greater detail.
“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” O’Donoghue said, adding, “I can’t quite believe we’ve got that shot from such a vast distance. It really speaks to how effective JWST is at picking up faint light.”
Webb’s new images of Jupiter show two of the planet’s moons, Amalthea and Adrastea. Adrastea, the smaller of the two, measures just 12 miles across, according to NASA. In comparison, Hubble’s image of Jupiter shows the planet’s ocean-filled moon, Europa, which measures 1,940 miles across.
Astronomers believe Europa’s ocean makes it a promising place to look for life within our solar system.
Webb has captured images of icy Europa, which were released in July, but the new snapshot is taken at an angle where Europa cannot be observed. Instead, Webb’s new Jupiter image showcases two smaller, fainter moons which can be seen more clearly in infrared. Jupiter has 79 moons, according to NASA.
“This is one of my favorite images of Jupiter of all time,” O’Donoghue said.
Webb also spotted Jupiter’s thin rings, which are made of dust particles formed when cosmic debris smashed into four of Jupiter’s moons — including Amalthea, which is also pictured in the newly released images.
“The JWST image is, of course, stunning,” Luke Moore, an astronomer at Boston University, told Insider. “Particularly, the level of spatial detail is impressive in the infrared — due to JWST’s large primary mirror — and the contrast is incredible, as you can see the incredibly faint rings, as well as the much brighter planet.”
The fuzzy spots lurking at the bottom of the frame in Webb’s image are likely galaxies “photobombing” Webb’s image of Jupiter, according to NASA. Those faint galaxies are hidden in Hubble’s snap of Jupiter, in which the planet — and its moon Europa — are seen against an inky black expanse.
Because of Webb’s ability to gather infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye, it is able to cut through cosmic dust and see far into the past. One of the new telescope’s main goals is to find galaxies so distant that their light travels almost the entire history of the universe to reach Webb. NASA says Webb is able to peer farther than other telescopes, like Hubble, capturing images of extremely faint galaxies that emitted their light in the first billion years or so after the Big Bang.
This image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the heart of M74, otherwise known as the Phantom Galaxy. Webb’s sharp vision has revealed delicate filaments of gas and dust in the grandiose spiral arms which wind outwards from the center of this image. A lack of gas in the nuclear region also provides an unobscured view of the nuclear star cluster at the galaxy’s center. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team
Incredible new images of the spectacular Phantom Galaxy, M74, showcase the power of space observatories working together in multiple wavelengths. In this case, data from the
New images of the Phantom Galaxy, M74, showcase the power of space observatories working together in multiple wavelengths. This video includes the Hubble Space Telescope’s view of the galaxy, which showcases the older, redder stars towards the center, to younger and bluer stars in its spiral arms, to the most active stellar formation in the red bubbles of H II regions. The James Webb Space Telescope’s image is strikingly different, instead highlighting the masses of gas and dust within the galaxy’s arms, and the dense cluster of stars at its core. The combined image of M74 merges these two for a truly unique look at this “grand design” spiral galaxy.
M74 is a particular class of spiral galaxy known as a ‘grand design spiral.’ This means that its spiral arms are prominent and well-defined, unlike the patchy and ragged structure seen in some spiral galaxies.
Webb’s sharp vision has revealed delicate filaments of gas and dust in the grandiose spiral arms of M74, which wind outwards from the center of the image. A lack of gas in the nuclear region also provides an unobscured view of the nuclear star cluster at the galaxy’s center.
M74 shines at its brightest in this combined optical/mid-infrared image, featuring data from both the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. With Hubble’s venerable Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Webb’s powerful Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) capturing a range of wavelengths, this new image has remarkable depth. The red colors mark dust threaded through the arms of the galaxy, lighter oranges being areas of hotter dust. The young stars throughout the arms and the nuclear core are picked out in blue. Heavier, older stars towards the galaxy’s center are shown in cyan and green, projecting a spooky glow from the core of the Phantom Galaxy. Bubbles of star formation are also visible in pink across the arms. Such a variety of galactic features is rare to see in a single image. Scientists combine data from telescopes operating across the electromagnetic spectrum to truly understand astronomical objects. In this way, data from Hubble and Webb complement each other to provide a comprehensive view of the spectacular M74 galaxy. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team; ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar Acknowledgement: J. Schmidt
Webb peered into M74 using its Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) in order to learn more about the earliest phases of star formation in the local Universe. These observations are part of a larger effort to chart 19 nearby star-forming galaxies in the infrared by the international PHANGS collaboration. Those galaxies have already been observed using the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories.
The addition of crystal-clear Webb observations at longer wavelengths will enable astronomers to pinpoint star-forming regions in the galaxies, accurately measure the masses and ages of star clusters, and gain insights into the nature of the small grains of dust drifting in interstellar space.
This image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the heart of M74, otherwise known as the Phantom Galaxy. Webb’s sharp vision has revealed delicate filaments of gas and dust in the grandiose spiral arms which wind outwards from the center of this image. A lack of gas in the nuclear region also provides an unobscured view of the nuclear star cluster at the galaxy’s center. M74 is a particular class of spiral galaxy known as a ‘grand design spiral’, meaning that its spiral arms are prominent and well-defined, unlike the patchy and ragged structure seen in some spiral galaxies.
Hubble observations of M74 have revealed particularly bright areas of star formation known as HII regions. Hubble’s sharp vision at ultraviolet and visible wavelengths complements Webb’s unparalleled sensitivity at infrared wavelengths, as do observations from ground-based radio telescopes such as the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, ALMA.
By combining data from telescopes operating across the electromagnetic spectrum, scientists can gain greater insight into astronomical objects than by using a single observatory – even one as powerful as Webb!
New images of the Phantom Galaxy, M74, showcase the power of space observatories working together in multiple wavelengths. On the left, the Hubble Space Telescope’s view of the galaxy ranges from the older, redder stars towards the center, to younger and bluer stars in its spiral arms, to the most active stellar formation in the red bubbles of H II regions. On the right, the James Webb Space Telescope’s image is strikingly different, instead highlighting the masses of gas and dust within the galaxy’s arms, and the dense cluster of stars at its core. The combined image in the center merges these two for a truly unique look at this “grand design” spiral galaxy. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team; ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar Acknowledgement: J. Schmidt
About Webb
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in our Solar System, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our Universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by
M74 shines at its brightest in this combined optical/mid-infrared image, featuring data from both the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. With Hubble’s venerable Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Webb’s powerful Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) capturing a range of wavelengths, this new image has remarkable depth. The red colors mark dust threaded through the arms of the galaxy, lighter oranges being areas of hotter dust. The young stars throughout the arms and the nuclear core are picked out in blue. Heavier, older stars towards the galaxy’s center are shown in cyan and green, projecting a spooky glow from the core of the Phantom Galaxy. Bubbles of star formation are also visible in pink across the arms. Such a variety of galactic features is rare to see in a single image.
MIRI was contributed by ESA and NASA, with the instrument designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (the MIRI European Consortium) in partnership with
The Webb Space Telescope’s new look at the cosmos …
Technology used to fine-tune Webb improves the vision of millions on Earth ….
And a new climate study heads to the space station … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at
The Webb Space Telescope’s New Look at the Cosmos
“It’s a new window into the history of our universe.”—POTUS
On July 11, President Joe Biden released the first full-color image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope during a public event at the White House in Washington. The image, known as Webb’s First Deep Field, reveals thousands of galaxies in a section of the sky so tiny that it is only about as big as a grain of sand that is held at arm’s length by a person on the ground.
“Every part of this mission is a partnership …”
The next day, in cooperation with our partners from the European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, and Space Telescope Science Institute, we released the full set of Webb’s first full-color images and spectroscopic data. The new observations uncover a collection of previously hidden cosmic features. This includes the clear signature of water on a planet outside our solar system that was not detected by previous studies of that planet, the earliest rapid phases of star formation in the Carina Nebula, never-before-seen details of a galaxy group that may help us better understand galactic mergers and interactions, and a second dying star brought into full view for the first time by Webb’s new infrared look at a planetary nebula about 2,000 light years from us. These first images kick off the beginning of the telescope’s science operations. Now, astronomers will have a chance to utilize the power of Webb to observe everything from objects within our solar system to activity from the very early history of the universe.
“We are now going to be determining things that we don’t even know what the questions are that we ought to ask. And so it’s one of these great engineering feats – not just for us, but for humanity.”—Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator
Johnson & Johnson’s iDesign Refractive Studio, pictured here, takes precise eye measurements that map visual pathways and cornea curvature to help doctors diagnose and plan treatment for eye issues. Credit: Johnson & Johnson Vision
NASA Tech for Webb Telescope Mirrors Boosts Eye Surgery Precision
Meanwhile, some NASA-developed technology used during construction of the Webb Space Telescope to measure deviations in its mirrors is driving major improvements to LASIK laser eye surgery and helping to improve the vision of millions of people on Earth. Medical company, Johnson & Johnson has incorporated the tech into a device that takes precise eye measurements to map imperfections in visual pathways and cornea curvature. NASA has a long history of transferring technology to the private sector. Learn more about our efforts to bring space technology down to Earth at spinoff.nasa.gov.
When strong winds on one continent stir up mineral rock dust (such as calcite or chlorite), the airborne particles can travel thousands of miles to affect entirely different continents. Dust suspended in the air can heat or cool the atmosphere and Earth’s surface. This heating or cooling effect is the focus of NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
New Climate Research Launches to Space Station
On July 14, a
In this illustration of a Mars sample return mission concept, a lander carrying a fetch rover touches down on the surface of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
As excitement mounts for the unveiling of Webb’s first full-colour images on Tuesday 12 July, here’s how to participate in the global celebration via ESA’s channels. Choose from watching a livestream, attending an in-person event, or joining our social media activities.
These first images from the international NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope will demonstrate Webb at its full power, ready to begin its mission to unfold the infrared universe. From the deepest images of our Universe ever made, to stellar life cycles, interacting galaxies and insights into exoplanets, Webb is set to wow us across a wide range of topics.
Watch live from 16:00 CEST on 12 July via ESA Web TV
NASA, ESA and CSA are hosting a joint broadcast to unveil the new images one by one with live commentary from experts. ESA is hosting the transmission on ESA Web TV. It will begin with a leadership address at 16:00 CEST, the image reveal in a live broadcast with expert commentary from 16:30 CEST, and a media briefing at 18:00 CEST.
Press release and where to find the new images
The images will be released simultaneously across Webb and partner agency websites and social media accounts.
Check the esa.int homepage as each image is unveiled on 12 July, between 16:30 CEST and 17:30 CEST. The complete set of images will also be available via our ESA Space in Images archive here.
Once all the images have been presented in the live broadcast, a press release will be published on esa.int/webb
Bookmark www.esawebb.org for all Webb community updates, too.
In-person media opportunities
Europe-based media are invited to join ESA at ESOC (Darmstadt, Germany) and ESTEC (Noordwijk, Netherlands) on 12 July for a special activity to celebrate the image release. More details and accreditation here.
Join #EuropeMeetsWebb public events
Special events are being held across Europe to celebrate this mission milestone and bring the images to more citizens across the continent. Find an event near you, here.
Be part of the social media buzz
There are many ways to join the Webb image buzz via our main social media channels as we countdown to the big unveil. Here’s a reminder of our main accounts, and some fun new challenges to look out for this week:
Twitter Follow @ESA_Webb for the latest mission updates. The first images will also be released via @esascience and @esa.
What observations or astronomical objects are you most looking forward to seeing with Webb? Look out for a #WebbChallenge coming from @ESA_Webb later in the week!
Join the general conversation using the hashtags #EuropeMeetsWebb #WebbSeesFarther or #UnfoldTheUniverse
Facebook Have you joined the Webb Facebook Social yet? International mission partners NASA, ESA and CSA have teamed up to bring you up to speed with all things Webb with dedicated posts this week and next.
Don’t forget to follow @ESAWebb, our official Facebook page for Webb, as well as @EuropeanSpaceAgency for the great image unveil on Tuesday.
Instagram If Instagram is your go-to-social, then follow @ESAWebb where the new images will also make an appearance. There is a challenge for you to join there as well so watch our posts and stories this week.
Spotify – music challenge It’s the final countdown! What songs spring to mind when you think of Webb and its science goals? We’re inviting you to add our Seeing Farther Spotify playlist, building on songs about launch and deployment to cover all things stars, planets, galaxies and beyond. Submit your ideas as replies to the relevant ESA Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest posts, or via ESA’s Instagram channel in our special ESA Quiz story edition on Friday night. The updated Spotify playlist will be revealed on 11 July and announced via our main social channels.
Science with Webb: seeing farther
About Webb
The Webb telescope lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 25 December 2021 on its exciting mission to unlock the secrets of the Universe. Webb, a partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), is designed to answer outstanding questions about the Universe and to make breakthrough discoveries in all fields of astronomy. The major contributions of ESA to the mission are: the NIRSpec instrument; 50% of the MIRI instrument; the provision of the launch services; and personnel to support science operations. In return for these contributions, European scientists will get a minimum share of 15% of the total observing time, like for the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
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And testing our lunar-roving robot … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at
First Full-Color Images Coming Soon from Webb Space Telescope
Our James Webb Space Telescope team is planning to release the telescope’s first full-color images and spectroscopic data on July 12. Some early test imagery has already demonstrated the unprecedented sharpness of Webb’s infrared view. But the images and data released on July 12 will be the first to showcase Webb’s full science capabilities.
An artist’s illustration of two suited crew members working on the lunar surface. The one in the foreground lifts a rock to examine it while the other photographs the collection site in the background. Credit: NASA
NASA Partners to Provide New Spacewalking and Moonwalking Services
On June 1, we announced that Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace will develop and provide next-generation spacesuit and spacewalk systems for astronauts to work outside the International Space Station, explore the lunar surface on Artemis missions, and prepare for human missions to
Illustration of NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) on the surface of the Moon. Credit: NASA Ames/Daniel Rutter
Testing NASA’s Resource-Hunting Moon Rover
Teams at our Glenn Research Center in Cleveland recently conducted full-scale egress testing with the prototype of our VIPER Moon rover to verify that it will be able to exit the Astrobotic Griffin lunar lander safely and effectively after landing on the Moon. VIPER is targeted for delivery to the Moon’s South Pole in late 2023 to map valuable resources for future Artemis missions.
Hurricane Larry is pictured churning in the Atlantic Ocean as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above. Credit: NASA
NASA Prepared to Monitor 2022 Hurricane Season from Space
The 2022 Atlantic Ocean hurricane season kicked off on June 1 and runs through November 30. NASA plays an important role in the science of hurricanes. Our fleet of Earth-observing satellites can monitor storms from the unique vantage point of space to collect data that is also useful for disaster preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery. Learn more at nasa.gov/hurricanes.
The Apollo 1 monument at Arlington National Cemetery was dedicated on Thursday, June 2, 2022, in Arlington, Va. The monument honors and memorializes the Apollo 1 crew of Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee. Family members of Apollo 1 astronaut Roger B. Chaffee were joined by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson as they placed flowers at the monument during its dedication. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Apollo 1 Monument Dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery
On June 2, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and others attended the Apollo 1 Monument Dedication at Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia. The monument honors and memorializes the Apollo 1 crew – astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee – and others who lost their lives in support of the agency’s mission of exploration and discovery.
If you want to see the faint, stretched-out light from the first stars and galaxies that began shining at the end of the cosmic dark ages a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, you’re going to need a big telescope. But not just any big telescope.
You’re going to need to put it in space where it will have to operate at a few degrees above absolute zero to register the exceedingly faint infrared traces of that bygone era, detecting light that has been stretched out by the expansion of space itself over nearly 14 billion years.
To do that, you’ll have to equip the observatory with a tennis court-size kite-shaped sunshade, made up of five membranes the thickness of a human hair separated and pulled taught by scores of motor-driven stainless steel cables routed through dozens of pulleys.
You’ll need to choose materials for the observatory’s structure that will retain their shape and size across enormous temperature gradients.
Then you’ll have to fold it all up so it can be crammed into the nosecone of a rocket and fired a million miles into space, hoping the vibrations and ear-splitting sounds of launch don’t dislodge a critical component so it can unfold itself, align its optics to nanometer precision and bring that feeble light to a razor-sharp focus.
That’s the Christmas holiday challenge facing the $9.8 billion James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the 31-year-old Hubble. It is by far the most sensitive, technologically challenging — and expensive — science satellite ever built.
The spacecraft, encapsulated inside a protective nose cone atop a European Space Agency-provided Ariane 5 rocket, was rolled to the launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, Thursday. Launch is targeted for 7:20 a.m. EST Christmas Day, weather permitting.
Once on its way, it will take a full month for the telescope to unfold like a high-tech origami, deploying its solar array, antennas, radiators, its segmented primary mirror, its secondary mirror and the complex, fragile sunshade that is so essential to success.
Another two months beyond that will be needed to carefully align the optics while the telescope continues a slow cool down to near absolute zero and then another three months or so to check out and calibrate Webb’s instruments.
And then, more than 20 years after it was first proposed, years behind schedule and billions over budget, JWST will finally be ready to take center stage on the high frontier, carrying the hopes and dreams of thousands of engineers and astronomers around the world.
“This is a high-risk and a very high-payoff program,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, a former space shuttle commander. “We’ve done everything we can think of to make Webb successful. And now we just need to go do it.”
LOOKING FOR THE OLDEST STARLIGHT THERE IS
Unlike Hubble, which was placed in low-Earth orbit where space shuttle astronauts could make service calls, JWST is headed for Lagrange Point 2 on the other side of the Moon where the gravity of Sun, Earth and Moon are in balance, allowing the telescope to remain in place with a minimum of propellant.
Well beyond the reach of spacewalking repairmen, L2 offers an ideal place for Webb to chill out for its epic quest to peer back in time to the end of the so-called dark ages, when the the blazing light of the first stars burned off the hydrogen fog of creation to travel freely through space.
“It’s an infrared telescope,” said Paul Geithner, JWST’s technical project manager. “The main reason it was conceived in the first place was to see the end of the cosmic dark ages. And if you want to see objects from that epoch, the ultraviolet and the visible light they emitted so long ago has been red shifted all the way into the infrared spectrum.
“Infrared light is heat radiation. So if you want an infrared telescope to be exquisitely sensitive, first you put in space (and) besides putting in space, you need it to be super cold so that it’s not blinded by its own thermal emissions.”
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Operating at L2, JWST will be less affected by the infrared background close to Earth and the scattered and re-emitted infrared light from dust in the equatorial plane of the solar system. “We need to be colder than 60 Kelvin so that we’re not limited by our own temperature,” Geithner said.
The hot side of JWST – the spacecraft bus and the bottom layer of the sunshade – will experience temperatures of nearly 230 degrees Fahrenheit. On the dark side, just beyond the fifth and uppermost layer of the sunshade, the temperature will be close to minus 390 degrees.
“That’s a huge, huge temperature differential, driven totally by these five layers on the sunshield (and) each layer is about the thickness of a human hair,” project manager Bill Ochs said in an interview.
Thirty minutes after liftoff, JWST will separate from the Ariane 5’s upper stage. Moments later, the observatory’s solar array will deploy to begin recharging on-board batteries and 12 hours after that, a thruster firing is planned to fine-tune the trajectory to L2.
Passing the moon’s orbit the day after Christmas, JWST will deploy its high-gain antenna and aim it toward Earth, giving flight controllers a high-speed data link.
Three days after launch, the two pallets holding the stowed sunshade membranes will unfold, dropping into place on either side of the Optical Telescope Element-Integrated Science Instrument Module, or OTIS. The OTIS is the actual telescope, its mirrors and instruments mounted in a carbon composite framework.
To achieve the required operating temperature, a telescoping “deployable tower assembly” will move the OTIS 48 inches away from the spacecraft’s support section, or bus, which houses relatively warm communications, thermal control and computer gear, along with the observatory’s propulsion and electrical power systems.
DEPLOYING A 1-MILLION SPF SUNSHADE
With the DTA extended, the stage will be set for the make-or-break deployment of the sunshade’s five Kapton membranes.
“The solar array deploying, the high gain antenna gimbal deploying and working are kind of standard stuff on a spacecraft and not that uncommon,” Geithner said. “And we’ve got to deploy that tower to separate the telescope from the bus to isolate it mechanically and thermally. That’s a little new, but it’s a fairly straightforward ball-screw mechanism.
“But yeah, the sun shield is where so much of the deployment risk exists because that’s where so many of the single point failures exist. And it’s just complicated.”
With the sunshade pallets already deployed fore and aft of the extended optics assembly, launch restraints will be released and protective covers rolled back to either side of the folded sunshade membranes. Two mid booms at right angles to the pallets then will extend and motor-driven cables will pull the stowed membranes out into a kite-like shape.
As the cables tighten, the layers will be separated and tensioned as required to ensure a slight gap between each taut layer. Near the center of the shade, the gap is as small as one inch to five inches while at the outboard corners, the separation is about a foot to facilitate heat flow. Fully deployed, the sunshade will measure 69.5-by-46.5 feet.
“The sunshield alone has 90 cables in it, that if you strung them end to end would be almost a quarter mile in length,” Geithner said. “And that’s for pulling out the membranes and tensioning them. … And, of course, we have 107 little non-explosive actuator devices, membrane release devices, that basically pin the membranes down and the covers over them for launch.”
Except for the booms, the sun shield is made up of “floppy things, and they’ll just float around in zero G and you’ll get a tangled mess if you don’t deterministically control them as much as possible,” he said.
“And so we have many little devices to constrain and ensure that all these cables and membranes and such don’t just flop around randomly and snag on something. That’s just where so much of the deployment risk is because it’s a lot of parts. They’re simple mechanisms, but there are a lot of them, and they all have to work.”
Ochs said the sunshade deploy sequence was designed to be “slow and deliberate” to give engineers time to evaluate each step in the procedure. While NASA can’t send an astronaut repair crew to the telescope, engineers have developed contingency plans to coax open jammed mechanisms.
“Whereas the mechanisms themselves are not redundant, the electronics that drive those mechanisms have redundant sides, we can go to the redundant side if there was a problem there to try to deploy it,” he said. “And then if we get to a situation where let’s say something stuck, we can shake the spacecraft using its attitude control system. We call it the ‘shimmy,’ where you can go back and forth at various frequencies and cause it to kind of shake something loose.”
Another procedure, known as the “twirl,” was developed to spin the observatory at various speeds, again to “shake something loose.”
“You can also back things up and have them start again,” Ochs said. “So if you need to back it up and give it another shot, you can do that. We’ve exercised many of these things in some of our rehearsals already, so we have these tools to help us along as we go through all these deployments.”
But what happens if there’s a serious snag, layers remain in contact with each other or membranes are torn?
Depending on the degree of thermal degradation, JWST’s three passively-cooled near-infrared instruments — the Near-Infrared Camera, or NIRCam; the Near-Infrared Spectrograph, or NIRSpec; and the Near InfraRed imager and Slitless Spectrograph/Fine Guidance Sensor, or NIRISS/FGS — should still be able to collect valuable data.
All three use 4-megapixel mercury-cadmium-telluride detectors to register infrared wavelengths between 0.6 and 5 microns. All three are designed to operate best at temperatures just below 40 Kelvin (degrees above absolute zero), but they would still work if slightly warmer.
JWST’s fourth instrument, the Mid-Infrared Instrument, or MIRI, uses 1-megapixel arsenic-doped silicon detectors to pull in wavelengths between 5 and 28 microns. It is designed to operate below 7 Kelvin, relying on a sophisticated cryocooler to pump cold helium gas from the spacecraft bus to the MIRI’s detectors.
The instrument has built-in margin, but “the real question is will the heat load on the Mid-Infrared Instrument be so high that the cryo cooler can’t overcome it? I think we’re still okay,” Geithner said. “Worst case, maybe we wouldn’t have a mid-infrared instrument. But you’d still be able to do some near-infrared science. You’d still have a mission, but it would be degraded.”
Ochs is confident the sunshade will deploy as designed based on years of testing and analysis.
“We have found things, and we’ve gone back and corrected them,” he said. “You don’t want to test it too much because the sunshield is so fragile, but we did three or four deployments and the last one, we were fully successful, we felt really good about it. It only has to work one more time. And that’s in orbit.”
HOW DO YOU LAUNCH THE LARGEST MIRROR IN SPACE? FOLD IT UP
Assuming the sunshade does, in fact, deploy normally, the next major challenge will be unfolding JWST’s mirrors starting about 10 days after launch.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a Ritchey-Chrétien Cassegrain, with a 91.5-inch primary mirror and a secondary bringing the light to a sharp focus just behind the main mirror. From there, pick-off mirrors feed the light to the telescope’s instruments.
JWST is what astronomers call a three-mirror anastigmat. Light first hits the 21.3-foot primary mirror, bounces up to the convex secondary and then down, slightly off axis, to a third elliptical mirror just behind the primary. The elliptical mirror corrects for astigmatism and widens the field of view, bouncing the light back up to a flat “steering mirror” that reflects it back down to the instruments.
The steering mirror can tip and tilt “very slightly at up to 100 cycles a second,” Geithner said, to exactly counteract any residual mechanical jitter in the system due to spinning reaction wheels and cryocooler pumps in the spacecraft bus.
Because a one-piece primary mirror would be too heavy and would not fit into an existing nose cone fairing, the observatory was designed around a segmented beryllium primary made up of 18 hexagonal sub-mirrors, each one 4.3 feet in diameter and coated with a thin layer of gold to maximise reflectivity.
Six of those segments, three on each side, were designed to be folded away for launch as was the telescope’s 2.4-foot secondary mirror. About 10 days after launch, after the sunshade is fully deployed and tensioned, Webb’s secondary mirror will be erected at the apex of three articulating booms.
The two side panels of the primary, each with three mirror segments, then will be rotated into position to either side of the central 12 segments.
“The aperture (width) had to be at least six-and-a-half meters (21.3 feet) to gather enough light and have the same resolution at near infrared wavelengths that Hubble has at visible wavelengths,” Geithner said.
Ultra-precise optical alignment of the 18 primary mirror segments is critical. To achieve that, each segment features six mechanical actuators allowing movement in six directions. A seventh actuator can push or pull on the center of a segment to ever so slightly distort its shape if needed.
Each segment was so precisely ground and polished that if one was blown up to the size of the United States, the 14,000-foot-high Rocky Mountains would be less than 2 inches high.
Because the mirror segments will change shape slightly as the telescope cools down in space, “we basically had to build this thing perfectly wrong at room temperature so that it will be precisely correct at an operating temperature below 60 Kelvin,” Geithner said. “That’s the over-arching big challenge.”
Before alignment, the 18 segments will produce 18 separate images. Using the NIRCam instrument, engineers will map the alignment of each segment and send commands to adjust the orientation and curvature as required to produce a single, sharply-focused image.
“You’ve got to get these 18 mirrors to act as one mirror,” Ochs said. “So when we get on orbit, we go through what we call a wavefront sensing process, but really it’s the focusing process. When you start out, if you’re looking at one star, you’re going to have 18 images and you need to get that down to one.
“So we use the actuators on the back of the mirror, there are motors on the back of each mirror that allow you to move the mirrors up and down, back and forth, in and out as well as change shape slightly.”
LEARNING A LESSON FROM HUBBLE
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990 with a famously flawed primary mirror, the result of a testing error on the ground that led to spherical aberration and blurred pictures. Shuttle astronauts were able to repair the telescope by installing instruments with built-in corrective optics.
With that lesson in mind, JWST managers opted for detailed pre-launch testing to ensure Webb’s optical system will work as planned. Along with exhaustive testing of each primary mirror segment, the entire telescope was sent to the Johnson Space Center in Houston and tested inside an Apollo-era vacuum chamber that duplicated the space environment.
“We made artificial stars with light coming from the end of fibre optics and we passed light all the way through the system and we know we can line it up and make it work,” Geithner said.
And what if an actuator fails or some other problem crops up and one of the primary mirror segments cannot be properly aligned?
“We can meet all our most fundamental requirements with 17 segments,” he said. “We can try to compensate with the other segments and the secondary, it depends on if it’s within a certain range. But if it’s a bad segment, we can just tilt it completely out of the way with the remaining actuators. That’s not great … but we could still meet our level-one requirements.”