NASA’s new powerful space telescope gets hit by larger than expected micrometeoroid

There was some damage to one of the primary mirror segments of the James Webb Space Telescope after it was hit by a larger than expected micrometeoroid at the end of May. NASA said that the telescope is still performing at a level that exceeds all mission requirements despite the impact.

NASA's next- generation space telescope is designed to look into the farthest reaches of the Universe and see back in time to the stars and galaxies that formed just after the Bigbang. It took more than two decades to complete the project. The telescope went to space on Christmas Day, where it underwent an extremely complex unfolding process before reaching its final destination.

According to a NASA post, the observatory has been hit by at least four different micrometeoroids since it was launched, but all of them were small and about the size of what NASA expected. A micrometeoroid is a small piece of an asteroid. The one that hit JWST was larger than what the agency had prepared for. The strike that took place between May 23rd and May 25th has caused a "marginally detectable effect in the data" according to NASA.

Fast- moving specks of space rock are an inescapable feature of the deep space environment. The gold-coated mirrors of the telescope were designed by NASA. A combination of simulations and ground testing with mirror samples was done by the space agency. NASA said that the models they used for the simulations were beyond what the team could have tested.

This isn't a complete surprise. The space environment includes harsh ultraviolet light and charged particles from the Sun, Cosmic rays from exotic sources in the galaxy, and occasional strikes by micrometeoroids.

Image: NASA

Engineers have the ability to move the mirror and instruments away from the debris if NASA can see them. NASA considers it an "unavoidable chance event" due to the fact that this was not part of a shower. An engineering team is being formed by the agency to come up with ways to avoid or diminish the effects of the strikes. The telescope will help NASA understand how many micrometeoroids there are in the deep space environment.

NASA was still optimistic despite the strike. The observatory is capable of performing the science it was designed to achieve, and webb is still well above expectations. Engineers can adjust the mirror to make it less distorted. Over time, the mission team will change the mirror to get the best results. As new observations are made and events unfold, it will be a process that will be ongoing. NASA warns that the engineers can't completely cancel out the impact of the strike.

Since the telescope is on its own out in space, NASA had to build it robust. The Hubble Space Telescope was not designed to be reliable. Engineers will have to figure out a way to fix the broken satellite from the ground. At the moment, there is no way to send humans or a robot to give a tune-up. NASA expects the JWST to get hit by more debris over time, so it will have to live with a damaged mirror.

The strike doesn't seem to be having an impact on the schedule. A huge milestone for the mission is just a month away. The first full-color images from JWST will be unveiled on July 12th after the mission team spent the last few months calibrating the instruments. NASA won't say what the images will be, but they should be great.