Deployment of the James Webb Telescope is underway in space. NASA regularly informs about progress, but there is no camera to film the observatory. Why ?
The gradual unfolding of the James Webb Telescope’s lens hood was a crucial phase. So crucial that NASA even embarked on a broadcast of the event, when the last membrane of the structure was stretched on January 4, 2022. But if you were hoping to see JWST live in space, you were probably disappointed: we only saw images of the mission control center .
No image of the JWST was taken directly from space. This is normal: the observatory does not carry a camera (other than its scientific instruments) on board. Unlike rovers and probes which can be equipped to send various images, landing or selfies, the JWST was not equipped to photograph itself. There is no visual check on the telescope being deployed.
Cameras would break
Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics explains why in a tweet January 4: ” It’s very dark and cold »On the side where the JWST must observe the Universe (its shield must always be positioned between the telescope and the Sun, there is a temperature difference between the two sides of the observatory). ” Cameras would see nothing and break from the cold », Adds the expert.
We could have imagined that NASA is working on the development of resistant cameras in these extreme conditions, but it should be remembered that the cost of the overall project has already soared (around 10 billion dollars). In addition, the addition of a camera on the JWST does not a priori represent any real scientific interest which would have justified an additional cost.
The mission is already very ambitious as it stands: in total, 178 release mechanisms must be functioning correctly to put the James Webb telescope into service. Its shield must keep the observatory in the cold, at -223 ° C, so that it can observe in the infrared range. While traveling to its final location: the JWST will evolve 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, from where it will be impossible to repair.