NASA Webb micrometeoroid mitigation update

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

“We’ve got skilled 14 measurable micrometeoroid hits on our primary mirror, and are averaging one to 2 monthly, as anticipated. The ensuing optical errors from all however one among these had 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 House 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 pretty much as good as our necessities.”

To make sure all components 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 staff, the telescope’s mirror producer, the House Telescope Science Institute, and the NASA Meteoroid Surroundings Workplace at NASA’s Marshall House Flight Middle in Huntsville, Alabama.

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

“Micrometeoroids that strike the mirror head on (transferring reverse the path the telescope is transferring) have twice the relative velocity and 4 instances the kinetic energy, so avoiding this path 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 can be extra safely made at a distinct time within the yr when Webb is in a distinct location in its orbit. Observations which might be time important, comparable to solar system targets, will nonetheless be performed within the micrometeoroid avoidance zone if required. This adjustment to how Webb observations are scheduled could have a long-term statistical profit.

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