On December 25, 2021, at 1:20 pm (Spanish peninsula time), he successfully took off from the European spaceport in Kurú (French Guiana) aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, the observatory that should revolutionize astrophysics in the next decade: a James Webb Space Telescope (JWST, abbreviated as webb)
Webb will observe a time of the universe never seen before, when the first galaxies and stars were forming
The event was confirmed and broadcast on their social networks by the three space agencies that participated in the construction of this huge observatory: a PAN —Who leads the project—, the European AT THAT and the canadian CSA.
together they collaborate since 1996, when a committee of experts recommended the development of a space telescope to observe the universe in infrared light. This wavelength allows you to see through clouds of dust and gas, expanding your vision even further back in space and time. until about 13.5 billion years ago, with respect to what Hubble allows to operate with visible light (about 12,500 million years).
Webb will go further in space and time than Hubble. / NASA
“Webb will observe a never-before-seen time in the universe when first galaxies and stars they were graduating, let’s explore uncharted territory”, he points out. Macarena Garcia Marin, an ESA astrophysicist working with one of his instruments.
29 days of tension to deploy
But before starting its scientific operations, the observatory will face its complex deployment in space. Its 6.5 meter mirror and huge and even larger parasol had to be folded into a 5 meter diameter rocket.
This telescope is very important for science, but also for space engineering, it’s the first one that we’re going to ship with the mirror and the sun visor folded and we have to show that we can open it in orbit
Begoña Vila (NASA)
Akin to ‘putting a ship in a bottle’, the JWST was launched doubled, but now its parts must open very slowly in the cold vacuum of space during the first few weeks of voyage, the so-called 29 days until the limit.
“This telescope is very important for science, but also for space engineering”, he stresses. Begona Vila, NASA systems engineer for another instrument and presenter in Spanish for the Webb launch, “because so far we’re limited by the size of the rocket and we can’t ship anything bigger: it’s the first one we’ll ship with the mirror and the umbrella has doubled and we have to show that we can put it into orbit. A new field opens up for future missions”.
During the first six months of commissioning, the call commission period, the scientists and those responsible for the mission will verify that all systems are working correctly, turn on the instruments, align the mirrors and receive the first images and test spectra from the telescope.
Webb Components
The whole is in an aircraft or spaceship in which is the giant sun shield or parasol, the size of a tennis court and divided into five layers, which protect you from the light and heat that come from the Sun and Earth. The temperature in the part facing our star can be around 100ºC, while behind it, on the cold side where the instruments work, it can reach -235ºC.
Its 18-piece, 18-piece, hexagonal mirror is coated in gold, a precious metal that reflects very well the weak infrared light with which the telescope operates.
On top of the multi-layer hood is the telescope itself, formed by the 6.5m primary mirror with 18 hexagonal pieces. It is made of gold-coated beryllium, a precious metal that reflects low infrared light very well for later detection.
Right behind the big mirror a scientific module (ISIM) with four instruments. ONE secondary mirror it will reflect light from the primary to them. In addition, the ship has other elements, such as antennas, stabilizers and a fine orientation sensor (FGS) to orient yourself very precisely and keep the observatory stable.
Of the four instruments, three operate in the near infrared (NIRCam from NASA, NIRSpec made entirely in Europe and NIRISS in Canada), and another in the mid-infrared (MIRI, 50% built between NASA and ESA).
Webb’s four scientific instruments. / NASA
inside they carry cameras to take pictures of astronomical objects, spectrographs which breaks down light into its colors to analyze and coronagraphs to block out starlight, allowing you to observe planets orbiting them.
Analysis of exoplanetary atmospheres
In addition to observing the first galaxies and stars to form after the Big Bang, Webb’s infrared and spectroscopic observations will help to study these exoplanets.
One of the goals is to analyze the composition of their atmospheres, especially the detection of biomarkers or molecules associated with life, such as water.
Transmission spectra of some Earth-like exoplanet molecules. / NASA
The research possibilities offered by Webb are enormous, and the scientific community has made many proposals to access its data.
The pressure factor for obtaining the information provided by this space telescope is one of the highest in history. The first year of observations is fully approved and scheduled.
Will operate at distant L2 point
In about a month, Webb will reach its destination. It will orbit around the call. Lagrangian point L2, an ideal place in the Sol-Terra system to stabilize and place this type of observatories.
This point is located 1.5 million kilometers away, a distance long enough (for comparison, the Moon is about 384,000 km away) that, if the telescope breaks, astronauts will not be able to repair it, like did with Hubble. Scientists are confident that its successor will work flawlessly after years of testing and cryogenic testing.
In this distant, cold spot L2, James Webb will scan the universe at least for five years, but it’s planned to run another five.
The global budget for this huge and complex space observatory, which has suffered many delays and was even about to be canceled due to budgetary issues, revolves around the 10 billion dollars, the majority contributed by NASA and about 700 million euros by ESA, which also took charge of the launch.
Spanish participation on the Webb
THE Astrobiology Center (CAB, CSIC-INTA) is one of the few centers around the world that collaborates, together with Many companies, in two of Webb’s scientific instruments: NIRSpec and MIRI. Many of the CAB researchers participated in its development or will use its data.
NIRSpec (near infrared spectrograph) It is a spectrograph built by ESA with AIRBUS Defense and Space as prime contractor. NASA contributes detectors and an innovative microelectromechanical device that allows observation of multiple objects simultaneously. Spanish companies CASA, CRISA (currently part of the AIRBUS group) and Iberespacio They developed components such as the control electronics, the cryogenic wiring system and the optical system cover.
the investigator Santiago Arribas leads one of this instrument’s scientific programs to study the formation and evolution of the first galaxies and black holes in the early universe through 3D spectroscopy: “This technique, which will be used for the first time in a space telescope, consists of simultaneously obtaining thousands of images of a small region of the sky at slightly different wavelengths. This will allow us to characterize in detail its physical, chemical and kinematic properties”. Pablo Pérez González You’ll also use the instrument’s 3D spectroscopy to understand why some galaxies stopped forming stars early in the universe.
for your part, Bruno Rodriguez del Pino will conduct post-launch tests and coordinate a project to characterize the properties of galaxies with intense star formation. Michele leg He is in the instrument’s scientific verification groups and coordinates a project aimed at studying black holes in the early days. These scientists are also part of the program. JADES (JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey), a large cosmological mapping carried out in collaboration between the scientific teams of NIRSpec and NIRCam.
as to MIRI (Mid Infrared Instrument), is the most sophisticated instrument sent to space to work in the thermal or mid-infrared range. It will be much more sensitive and with higher angular resolution than its predecessor. “Its characteristics make it unique for the study of exoplanets, the chemistry of protoplanetary disks and the formation and evolution of galaxies”, he highlights. Luis hill, one of its main investigators.
Several engineering groups from the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), under the direction of Lola sabau, Eva Diaz, Ana aricha, Thomas Belenguer, Luis Gonzalez, Inmaculada Figueroa and David Barrado, together with the engineering company LIDAX, developed the MTS (MIRI Telescope Simulator), an optical system with which the Webb optical signal was simulated in deep space conditions and which was used to characterize the MIRI before its delivery to NASA in 2012.
Colina leads the group that will study the formation and evolution of galaxies at cosmological distances, Almudena Alonso Herrero another team that will study nuclear regions and black holes in nearby galaxies, and David Barred participates in the characterization group of exoplanets and protoplanetary disks. What else, Javier Álvarez and Álvaro Labiano are involved in MIRI orbital characterization and calibration work during the first half of 2022.
Other members of the MIRI scientific team participate in additional projects, such as Pablo G. Pérez González, which will do so on the largest cosmological maps to be made in the telescope’s first year of operation, including the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey, CEERS. for your part, Javier Alvarez will conduct a study of galaxies that appeared in the early days of the universe (when it was 5% of its current age).
In addition, Spanish women work as Webb instrument scientists at NASA’s Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore (USA). Macarena Garcia Marin (in MIRI) and Elena Puga (in NIRSpec), along with the rest of the ESA researchers assigned to that center.
It is also necessary to highlight the national representatives who work at NASA itself, such as the Galician systems engineer. Begoña Vila Costas, awarded by the US space agency for his work with the dual-instrument FGS-NIRISS from Webb and participating in the Spanish broadcast of the launch.
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