The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has reported that a small meteorite struck the James Webb Space Telescope, causing deformation to one of its mirrors, but not affecting the planned observation schedule.
“The recent collision did not alter Webb’s schedule,” NASA stated on June 8.
The small meteorite impacted the telescope, valued at $10 billion, at the end of May, leaving a minor effect that was detectable in the Webb telescope’s data, according to NASA’s announcement.
James Webb Space Telescope – (Photo: SPACE.COM)
NASA also indicated that this was the fifth collision and the largest one for the James Webb Telescope since its launch into space in December 2021, as reported by Reuters.
“After initial assessments, the team found that the telescope is still operating beyond all mission requirements. Detailed measurements and analyses are currently underway,” NASA added.
According to the agency, engineers have begun adjusting the deformed mirror to help “eliminate some of the distortion.”
In January 2022, the James Webb Telescope reached its final destination nearly a month after being launched into space. This destination is located about 1.6 million kilometers from Earth. The telescope is expected to send back its first color images of the universe next month, in July.
The gold-coated mirrors of the James Webb Telescope are designed to withstand the bombardment of high-speed particles the size of dust in space. NASA engineers also calculated for the Webb to endure impacts from infrequent collisions with small meteorites originating from meteor showers.
However, the meteorite that struck the James Webb in May was not from a meteor shower, and this collision was larger than what the Webb team had tested on the ground.
NASA has assembled a team of engineers to research ways to avoid such collisions in the future.
The James Webb Telescope is one of the most expensive space observatories ever built and is managed by NASA. The James Webb Telescope features a set of sensors and 18 gold-coated mirrors working together to search for distant planets as well as galaxies from the early stages of the universe.
