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Surprising dust strike on Webb telescope has scientists on alert

Weeks after being hit by a micrometeoroid, the landmark observatory prepares to release its first scientific images.
  1. Alexandra Witze
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As NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope gears up to release its first scientific images on 11 and 12 July, engineers are keeping an eye on a small, but potentially impactful, future threat: micrometeoroids. Although mission scientists expected the telescope to be dinged by these tiny bits of space dust over its anticipated 20-year lifetime, a relatively large hit in May has caused them to re-evaluate what they thought they knew about the frequency with which Webb will be pelted.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01877-8

Updates & Corrections

  • Update 11 July 2022: An earlier version of this story said that NASA would release the first images from the Webb telescope on 12 July. Since publication, the plan has changed. US President Joe Biden will release the first image from the telescope on 11 July. NASA will release the remaining images on 12 July.

References

  1. Moorhead, A. V., Kingery, A. & Ehlert, S. J. Spacecr. Rockets 57, 160–176 (2020).

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