A report from the Space Telescope Science Institute states that a micrometeoroid hit the telescope in May. The report was published by NASA. An exciting first look at the planet Jupiter was included in the description of the telescope's science performance up to July 12, 2022, the day the telescope's first images were public. Prelaunch expectations of damage for a single micrometeoroid wereceeded. The team is looking at how to mitigate future impacts.
Micrometeoroids are small pieces of rock. The rocks can reach speeds of up to 22,000 miles per hour when they are in the air.
A NASA release stated that a micrometeoroid impacted one of the telescope's hexagonal mirrors between May 23 and May 25; a new report states that the impact actually happened between May 22 and May 24.
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 within our solar system.
In order to produce high-resolution images of very faint light sources in the distant universe, the mirrors were carefully aligned. The ground measurement of the mirror segments optical quality was compared to the telescope's current quality and they found errors in the C3 segment.
The report stated that the micrometeoroid damage is small on the full telescope level because the C3 segment is just one of 18 hexagonal mirrors.
Despite the damage, the team believes that the optical performance requirements should be met for a long time. It is expected to be operational for 20 years and will be in space for the rest of its life.
The rate of mirror degradation from micrometeoroids is one of the big unknowns. The team detected four strikes that were within their expectations, but the larger event is cause for concern. It will degrade earlier than expected if it is more susceptible to micrometeoroid impacts.
For that to happen, the strikes need to be anticipated so that the team can protect its mirrors. For an observatory that was launched and commissioned without issue, it was only a matter of time before it was thrown a curve ball.
The first full-color image is here.
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