“James Webb Space Telescope and Our Fascination”

A space telescope or space observatory is a telescope in outer space used to observe

astronomical objects. Wilhelm Beer and Johann Heinrich Madler in 1837 discussed the
advantages of an observatory on the Moon. In 1946, American theoretical astrophysicist
Lyman Spitzer proposed a telescope in space. Spitzer's proposal called for a large
telescope that would not be hindered by Earth's atmosphere. After lobbying in the 1960s
and 70s for such a system to be built, Spitzer's vision ultimately materialized into the
Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched on April 24, 1990 by the Space Shuttle
Discovery. The first operational space telescopes were the American Orbiting Astronomical
Observatory, OAO-2 launched in 1968, and the Soviet Orion 1 ultraviolet telescope aboard
space station Salyut 1 in 1971. From then onwards the journey of the telescope has
started with its recent addition with the James Webb telescope.

History:
In September 1989, astronomers and scientists met at the Space Telescope Science
Institute in Baltimore, Maryland to discuss the future of space-based astronomy after the
launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched in December, 1993. In 1997,
NASA worked with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Ball Aerospace & Technologies, and
TRW to conduct technical requirement and cost studies of the three unfamiliar concepts,
and in 1999 selected Lockheed Martin and TRW for preliminary concept studies. Launch
was at that time planned for 2007, but the launch date was pushed back many times. In
2002, the project was renamed after NASA’s second administrator (1961–1968), James
Edwin Webb (1906–1992). Webb led the agency during the Apollo program and
established scientific research as a core NASA activity. The construction of the James
Webb telescope was awarded to a company called TRW in 2003 and they started with a
budget of just over $800 million. TRW was then acquired by Northrop Grumman and the
budget continued to grow from there. In the month of August 2005, re-planning was done
in the structure of JWST. Following the re-planning, the project was independently
reviewed in April 2006. In March 2008, the project successfully completed its Preliminary
Design Review (PDR). The project passed the review in April 2008. In March 2008, the
project successfully completed its Preliminary Design Review (PDR). In April 2008, the
project passed the Non-Advocate Review. By 2011, the JWST project was in the final
design and fabrication phase. In August, 2019, the full telescope was fully assembled for
the first time. In October 2019, the sun shield was also assembled and tested. On
December 25th, 2021, the telescope launched into space on an Ariane 5 rocket. NASA’s
lifetime cost for the project is expected to be US$9.7 billion, of which US$8.8 billion was
spent on spacecraft design and development and US$861 million is planned to support
five years of mission operations. Representatives from the European Space Agency and
Canadian Space Agency stated their project contributions amount to approximately €700
million and CA$200 million, respectively.
Architecture:

Webb’s unprecedented scientific

power is a function of both the size of its
primary mirror and the extreme sensitivity
and precision of its four scientific
instruments:
● Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI)
● Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam)
● Near-Infrared Spectrograph Fig: Different parts of JWST
(NIRSpec)
● Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph/Fine Guidance Sensor
(NIRISS/FGS)

The Integrated Science Instrument

Module (ISIM) is a framework that provides electrical power, computing resources, cooling
capability as well as structural stability to the Webb telescope. It is made with bonded
graphite-epoxy composite attached to the underside of Webb's telescope structure. The
ISIM holds the four science instruments and a guide camera.
a. Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI)
MIRI provides imaging and spectroscopy capabilities in the mid-infrared. As the
only mid-infrared instrument, astronomers rely on MIRI to study cooler objects
like debris disks, which emit most of their light in the mid-infrared, and extremely
distant galaxies whose light has been shifted into the mid-infrared over time. MIRI
was developed as a collaboration between NASA and a consortium of European
countries.

b. Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam)

NIRCam is Webb’s primary near-infrared imager, providing high-resolution
imaging and spectroscopy for a wide variety of investigations. Because NIRCam
is the only near-infrared instrument with coronagraphic and time-series imaging
capabilities, it is crucial for many exoplanet studies. In addition to imaging and
spectroscopy, NIRCam is also part of Webb’s wavefront sensing and control
system, which detects and corrects for slight irregularities in the shape of the
primary mirror or misalignment between mirror segments, giving the telescope
the ability to focus clearly on objects near and far. NIRCam was built by a team
led by the University of Arizona, with principal investigator Marcia J. Rieke.

c. Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec)

NIRSpec is one of Webb’s versatile tools for near-infrared spectroscopy. In
addition to standard single-slit spectroscopy to gather spectra of specific objects,
NIRSpec also has an integral field unit to investigate spatial variations in spectra
and a microshutter array to capture individual spectra of dozens of objects at
once. This highly efficient design is part of what makes Webb ideal for studying
 extremely distant, faint galaxies. NIRSpec was built for the European Space
Agency by Airbus Industries with the microshutter array (MSA) and detector
subsystems fabricated by NASA.

d. Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph/Fine Guidance Sensor

(NIRISS/FGS)
NIRISS provides near-infrared imaging and spectroscopic capabilities. As the
only instrument capable of aperture mask interferometry, NIRISS has the unique
ability to capture images of bright objects at a resolution greater than the other
imagers. Housed in the same assembly as NIRISS is Webb’s Fine Guidance
Sensor (FGS). The FGS is a camera system designed to make sure Webb is
stable and pointing in exactly the right direction throughout the observation. The
FGS detects and identifies guide stars and ensures that Webb is locked onto
those stars for the entire observation. NIRISS is a contribution of the Canadian
Space Agency. Honeywell International designed and built the instrument in
collaboration with a team at the Université de Montréal. Additional technical
support was provided by the National Research Council of Canada’s Herzberg
Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Center.

Method of operation:
At the heart of the telescope there is a 6.5 meters wide mirror made up of 18 hexagonal
segments each coated in gold. It can detect incredibly faint light coming from distant stars.
It has a sunshield of the size of a tennis court. It is made up of 5 thin layers which protects
the telescope from heat and light. The light falls on the mirrors and then gets reflected into
the hypersensitive infrared detectors at which point the photons are converted into
electrical voltage. The NIRcam is the primary imager in the near infrared range, 10
sensitive detectors allow it detect the light of the first stars and galaxies in addition the
NIRcam is equipped with chronographs which enables it to see the lit star galaxies near
any shining star more faintly. NIR spec will be working with the same range as NIRcam. It
will study the spectrum of light emitted by an object. Through this we can tell its mass,
temperature and chemical composition. MIRI is also equipped with a camera and a
spectrograph; however, it works with different ranges of infrared light with longer waves
that can penetrate dense dust clouds. Its high-sensitivity detector allows us to observe
distant galaxies, newly formed stars, and redshifted light of Comet. MIRI’s problem is that
this tool captures its own heat if it's not 6.7 Kelvin or negative 266.5 degrees Celsius. So,
scientists have built a cryo-cooler for the MIRI which keeps it cool and in working condition.
Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) gives statistics for science attitude determination, excellent
pointing, and attitude stabilization the usage of manual stars within the JWST focal plane.
Absolute pointing and picture movement overall performance is anticipated at the JWST
Pointing Performance page. In this way the telescope gets a crystal clear image which is
better than its ancestor Hubble space telescope.
Objective of JWST:
Webb is on occasion defined as a "time machine," which in a sense it is. Because mild
from remote items travels at finite speed, we see them as they were inside the past.
Hubble has proven us galaxies as they had been many billions of years ago, however the
JWST can be even greater sensitive. NASA hopes it's going to see all of the matter again
whilst the primary galaxies formed, around 13.6 billion years ago. It's hoped that Webb will
be able to answer questions like these with its ultra-deep view of the early universe too.
NASA hopes that it will finally reveal the ultimate secrets of star formation. In turn, this may
teach us something about the origins of our own sun and solar system. One of the most
exciting areas of contemporary astronomy is the search for exoplanets orbiting other stars,
particularly Earth-like planets that may have the chemical ingredients and conditions
necessary for life to evolve. The JWST will contribute to this search in several ways, using
infrared imaging and spectroscopy to study the chemical and physical properties of
planetary systems. Through these objectives modern astrophysics will be more developed
in the near future.

Fig: Images captured by JWST

On 24 January, 2022 the telescope reached its final destination in the Lagrange L2 point.
The telescope’s first full-color images and spectroscopic data were released during a
televised broadcast at 14:30 UTC on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, from NASA’s Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The primary mission duration is 5 1/2 years and
the expected lifetime is 20 years. In the short duration of its mission it will rotate around
and capture the undiscovered stars, galaxies and many other unidentified objects. The
future in the field of astrophysics has improved day by day with its latest improvement with
the addition of the James Webb Space Telescope. Using this space more research about
our universe can be done in the future for the development of humankind.

Reference:

1. www.wikipedia.org
2. webb.nasa.gov
3. webbtelescope.org
4. www.researchgate.net
5. www.academia.edu