NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope successfully launched on December 24, 2021. The spacecraft is now undergoing the process of its deployment in deep space. JWST will be unfolding its telescope mirror, which is the largest such mirror ever sent to space. Because of its size, the mirror is composed of eight different segments that need to be unfurled into their final position.
A recent article from Many Worlds discusses the deployment of JWST in detail. Click here to read the full article.
For further details on the status of the James Webb Space Telescope, visit: https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/whereIsWebb.html
The Many Worlds Blog chronicles the search for evidence of life beyond Earth written by author/journalist Marc Kaufman. The “Many Worlds” column is supported by the Lunar Planetary Institute/USRA and informed by NASA’s NExSS initiative, a research coordination network supported by the NASA Astrobiology Program. Any opinions expressed are the author’s alone.