NASA Webb micrometeoroid mitigation update

Micrometeoroid strikes are an unavoidable side of working any spacecraft. NASA’s James Webb Area Telescope was engineered to resist continuous bombardment from these dust-sized particles transferring at excessive velocities, to proceed to generate groundbreaking science far into the long run.

“We now have skilled 14 measurable micrometeoroid hits on our primary mirror, and are averaging one to 2 per thirty days, as anticipated. The ensuing optical errors from all however considered one of these have been effectively inside what we had budgeted and anticipated when constructing the observatory,” stated Mike Menzel, Webb lead mission techniques engineer at NASA’s Goddard Area Flight Middle in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Certainly one of these was larger than our expectations and prelaunch fashions; nevertheless, even after this occasion our present optical efficiency continues to be twice nearly as good as our necessities.”

To make sure all elements of the observatory proceed to carry out at their greatest, NASA convened a working group of optics and micrometeoroid specialists from NASA Goddard’s Webb crew, the telescope’s mirror producer, the Area Telescope Science Institute, and the NASA Meteoroid Setting Workplace at NASA’s Marshall Area Flight Middle in Huntsville, Alabama.

After thorough evaluation, the crew concluded the higher-energy influence noticed in Might was a uncommon statistical occasion each when it comes to vitality, and in hitting a very delicate location on Webb’s major mirror. To attenuate future impacts of this magnitude, the crew has determined that future observations might be deliberate to face away from what’s now often known as the “micrometeoroid avoidance zone.”

“Micrometeoroids that strike the mirror head on (transferring reverse the course the telescope is transferring) have twice the relative velocity and 4 instances the kinetic energy, so avoiding this course when possible will assist lengthen the beautiful optical efficiency for many years,” stated Lee Feinberg, Webb optical telescope factor supervisor at NASA Goddard.

This doesn’t imply that these areas of the sky can’t be noticed, solely that observations of these objects might be extra safely made at a distinct time within the yr when Webb is in a distinct location in its orbit. Observations which can be time important, resembling solar system targets, will nonetheless be completed within the micrometeoroid avoidance zone if required. This adjustment to how Webb observations are scheduled could have a long-term statistical profit.

The crew will implement the micrometeoroid avoidance zone beginning with Webb’s second yr of science, or “Cycle 2.” Extra info and steering for Cycle 2 is on the market on JWST Observer News.