The James Webb Space Telescope was hit by a meteorite but it is OK

One of his mirrors of the new James Webb Large Space Telescope The US space agency (NASA) was hit and out of alignment by a tiny meteor, but the event is not expected to have a significant negative impact on its observations.

The Telescope costing $ 10 billionwhich was launched at the end of 2021 and is the most powerful ever sent into space, was launched into permanent orbit in January at a distance of 1.6 million kilometers from Earth and is expected to be fully operational soon. To date, it is in the testing and testing phase of its scientific instruments, as it prepares for the official start of its operation and the reception of its first color images in July.

The solar system is full of micrometeorologists traveling at very high speeds, usually having a grain size of dust. It was therefore expected that the telescope would be hit and its 18 gold-plated individual mirrors, which make up a larger one, were designed to withstand small blows. It had received a total of four smaller blows since its launch, although the tiny fifth space rock that struck it this time, which did not belong to a drizzle of rain, was larger than it had been tested or simulated on the ground before. its launch.

THE NASA “After the initial assessments, the team found that the telescope was still operating at a level that exceeded all mission requirements, despite a marginally detectable impact on the data. Thorough analysis and measurements are ongoing,” he said. Its engineers have started one sensitive adjustment of the affected part of the mirrorin order to correct to a certain extent at least the deformation caused by the impact.

“We always knew that the Webb had to deal with the space environment, which includes ultraviolet radiation and charged particles from the Sun, cosmic rays from the galaxy’s exotic sources, and periodic micrometeorological impacts into our solar system. “We designed and built the Webb with capabilities – optical, thermal, electrical, mechanical – that ensure it can accomplish its ambitious scientific mission even after many years in space.” said o Paul Geithner, Technical Director, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland.

Among other things, the ability of the telescope to “feel” the impacts and to adjust the position of its mirrors, allows even a partial correction of the consequences.