The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which was put into orbit on Christmas Day of 2021, has finished its first year of operation. And what a remarkable year of discoveries it has been.
The most powerful observatory in the world has delivered everything that was anticipated and more, from the confirmation of ‘infant’ galaxies 13.4 billion light years away that appear as they did when the Universe was only 2-3% of its current age to the detection of water in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star within our Milky Way galaxy.
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) flawless Ariane rocket launch from French Guyana provided the foundation for the James Webb Space Telescope’s maiden success.
The immaculate launch meant that the fuel that was reserved for performing crucial course correction manoeuvres during its journey about 15,00,000 kilometers away from home to the second Lagrange point (L2) was barely used, giving the observatory an increased lease of life from a projected 5 years to up to 20 years.
As the telescope was deployed and its science instruments commissioned and tested, it further became clear that the equipment were performing much better in the coldness of space compared to its performance in the laboratory before launch.
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