A micrometeoroid hit NASA's giant Webb telescope, but it took it like a champ

It's distressing when you're a new parent and you see a bruise on your kid. I have to tell you that the James Webb Space Telescope had a small scratch, but I assure you that it's fine.

A small piece of space debris hit one of the telescope's primary mirror segments between May 23 and 25. The primary mirror of the James Webb Telescope is made of 18 gold- plated hexagonal panels which measure over 21 feet in diameter.

The telescope was very brave and did not cry. The performance of the telescope doesn't appear to have been affected by the impact.

The telescope is performing at a level that exceeds all mission requirements despite a slight effect in the data, according to NASA.

This is not the first time the telescope has been damaged. The telescope was launched on December 25 last year. When constructing the James Webb telescope, NASA had to account for these incidents and make sure there was a margin for degradation. The space agency had tested or modeled the impact before it, so there was more uncertainty this time.

NASA's Paul Geithner said that the space environment includes harsh ultraviolet light and charged particles from the Sun, as well as occasional strikes by micrometeoroids.

It was designed and built with a performance margin to make sure it could perform its ambitious science mission after many years in space.

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The telescope is able to adjust its mirror positions because it is a big boy who can stand alone. NASA's engineers are researching what else they can do to reduce the damage caused by future micrometeoroid hits like this one. It should be kissed to make it better.