INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The world&s largest and most powerful space telescope by NASA, James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), has suffered massive damage from a
micrometeoroid strike in late May, Forbes magazine reported on Monday.In a new paper published in the wake of Webb&s incredible first images
last week, a group of scientists outlined the performance of the space telescope
They reported problems that &cannot be corrected&.Writing about the projected lifetime of the Webb telescope, the researchers said, &At
present, the largest source of uncertainty is long-term effects of micrometeoroid impacts that slowly degrade the primary mirror.The
scientists informed that since the launch, the Webb telescope has been struck by six micrometeorites
While five of the meteorites did a negligible amount of damage, a sixth caused some damage to the JWST. Notably, as the damage has taken
place on one of the panels, it will not impact the Webb telescope&s image-taking abilities at all
However, the engineers who designed Webb know that its mirrors and sun-shield will unavoidably slowly degrade from micrometeoroid
impacts. Moreover, scientists also expect Webb&s detectors to be gradually damaged by charged particles
They believe that its sun-shield and innovative five-layer insulation will degrade from space weathering
Since its mirror is exposed to space, the researchers also said that micrometeoroid strikes are difficult for Webb to avoid.The $9.7 billion
space telescope was launched in 2021
Earlier this month, NASA revealed the first of many images that it captured of deep space.The post NASA&s James Webb telescope damaged by
space rock: report first appeared on Ariana News.
