Webb telescope nearly set to explore the solar system

We have begun working on technical operations of the observatory as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope moves through the final phases. We plan to observe planets and their satellites, asteroids, and comets in our solar system, which move across the background stars of our galaxy.

The objects need to be tracked and locked on to so that they can be seen. The first test to track a moving object was completed by the team. The test proved that the man could conduct science. As we move forward, we will test other objects moving at different speeds to see if we can study objects that move throughout the solar system.

We asked the scientist about her plans for studying Earth's nearest neighbors.

I am excited about the first year of science operations. I lead a team of excited astronomer. My team will be observing much closer to home, even though they can detect the faint light of the earliest galaxies. Some of the mysteries of our solar system will be solved with the help of Webb.

One of the questions I get asked a lot is why we need a telescope like the one used in the movie. We planetary scientists use telescopes to complement our in situ missions. One example is how Hubble was used to find the post-Pluto target. We use telescopes when we don't have a plan.

The team from The Webb team has already used an asteroid within our solar system to run engineering tests of the moving target capability. The engineering team tested this capability on a small asteroid named Tenzing, which was named after a famous Tibetan mountain guide. The Space Telescope Science Institute had a choice of about 40 possible asteroids to test the MT tracking on, but, as he told our team, picking the one with a name linked to success seemed like a good idea.

My program uses all of the capabilities of the forefront telescope because of my role as an Interdisciplinary Scientist. We need all of them to understand the universe.

Our solar system has more mysteries than my team had time to solve. We will study the atmosphere of Mars, as well as the giant planets and the rings ofSaturn. In its first year, 7% of the time will be devoted to objects within our solar system.

One exciting and challenging program we plan to do is observe ocean worlds. There is evidence from the Hubble Space Telescope that Jupiter's moon has water-rich material. We will use high-resolution imagery to look for active geologic processes and activity on the surface of Europa. If we locate a plume, we will use a method to analyze its composition.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Uranus. It was the lack of a mission to these distant worlds that got me involved in the program. The chemistry and dynamics of the upper atmosphere can be seen with the help of the telescope. I have spent the past 30 years using the biggest and best telescopes we have ever built to study these ice giants, and we will now add Webb to that list.

We have been planning for Webb observations for over twenty years, and now that we are deployed and focused, that has gone into overdrive. The broad planetary science community will immediately be able to access nearly all of my team's solar system data. I made the choice to enable more science discoveries.

I am very grateful to have been able to work with the team for all this time, and I want to give a shout out to the thousands of people who have helped make this facility possible. Thank you, ad astra.

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