The micrometeoroid struck the telescope sometime between May 23 and May 25. It may also help scientists develop strategies for protecting the telescope in the future. Researchers are saying that the impact may help them to better understand Earth-sun Lagrange Point 2 (L2), which is where Webb is currently in orbit. Northrop Grumman/NASA via AP NASA researchers say there is no need to worry because the instrument was designed to withstand the damages of space. A tiny piece of rock has just smashed into NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope. “We designed and built Webb with performance margin – optical, thermal, electrical, mechanical – to ensure it can perform its ambitious science mission even after many years in space,” Geithner added. This includes harsh ultraviolet light and charged particles from the Sun, cosmic rays from foreign sources in the galaxy, and the occasional strikes by micrometeoroids. “We always knew that Webb would have to weather the space environment,” Paul Geithner, engineer and technical deputy project manager of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said. Should that fail, Mission Control can also adjust Webb’s mirrors from Earth. Not only was the $10 billion space instrument designed to withstand the damages of space, but it also comes equipped with sensors to adjust its own mirrors. While this can be problematic as impacts may move Webb’s mirror segments out of place, NASA researchers say there is no need to worry. Recently, one of James Webb’s 18 mirrors was hit by a micrometeorite – or a piece of meteorite so small it could pass through Earth’s atmosphere without burning up. NASA alarmed by SpaceX craft 'leaking fuel'Ī tiny piece of rock has just smashed into NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope. Inside China's plan for space power plant that will beam energy onto Earth
0 kommentar(er)
