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| Credit - Google || Image Taken From bbc.com |
A micrometeoroid hit the James Webb Telescope, which recently completed its final round of tests before launch in 2018, according to NASA. The telescope, which will be sent into space on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana, was not damaged by the collision and engineers say it was likely no more than a few mm in size. A micrometeoroid that can hit the James Webb Telescope could be as small as 0.01 inches in diameter, or approximately 1 mm. The telescope is designed to withstand impacts from larger pieces of space debris, but did not undergo testing specifically for smaller impacts like this one.
NASA Confirms JWST Was Damaged
NASA has confirmed that recent testing on its next great space observatory - The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) - showed an issue with some of its 18 mirrors. The agency released images, taken during cryogenic testing at Johnson Space Center, showing three of JWST's primary mirror segments with large, circular indentations and dings in their surfaces. According to NASA officials, these marks were caused by micrometeoroids that struck while it was being shipped back from France where all 18 mirror segments were manufactured and assembled. Although damaging to its reflective surface, NASA said it does not pose any issues for JWST's final in-space performance once it reaches orbit.
NASA Investigates the Problem
They are currently looking into what went wrong with The James Webb Telescope, but at present it is thought that a micrometeoroid hit caused the problem. It is still too early to know if there was any impact to science data during or after its deployment, said NASA Spokesperson Tabatha Thompson. Once we get an assessment of what happened and determine whether there will be any impact on our ability to meet mission requirements, we will provide more information. All things considered, they are lucky it was not much worse. The new telescope has been called 'NASA's most important space observatory since Hubble', so they will want to make sure that everything is running smoothly before they attempt to deploy again.