The James Webb Space Telescope is finally on its way into orbit

Introduction:

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been launched on 25 Dec 2021 by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) via an Ariane 5 rocket at 1220 GMT from French Guiana space center. The Webb is contemporarily on a 29-day trip.

It is the largest and most powerful space telescope ever launched on Christmas Day that will start its mission in mid-2022 to unveil mysterious of the universe. The giant telescope was cautiously folded to fit inside the carrying spacecraft. During its first week in space, it will slowly be unfolded.

The project’s cost was estimated at about $1 billion to $3.5 billion whereas completed in $10 billion besides taking a huge time of more than two decades.

Objectives of Mission:

To study the earliest stars and peer back farther into the universe's past than ever before. To dig deep than earlier to examine atmospheres of far planets in the hope that signs of life might be detected. The spacecraft will directly reach a location that is known as the Lagrange point (L2) which is 1.5 million kilometers away from the earth and near to the orbit of the sun.  This location is gravitationally stable and helps the rocket for capturing multiple pictures of the sun’s orbit and other space objects.

Pillars of Mission:

The mission has four main pillars to surpass pressing questions in the field of astronomy.

• First. It will enable it to glimpse stars and galaxies to accomplish. The aim is to know how the first stars and galaxies were formed in the hundreds of millions of years after the big bang.
• Second. To study the formation and evolution of galaxies over time, from the cosmic chaos of the early universe to the relatively peaceful galaxies.
• Third. To understand how stars and the planetary systems around them form, allowing us to compare our solar system with the countless others across the universe.
• Fourth. It will finally point towards exoplanets orbiting distant stars to peer through their atmospheres and look for potential signs of alien life.

Components of JWST and their Functions:

• The Optical Telescope Element (OTE). OTE works as an eye of the telescope that is consists of the mirrors and the backplane to capture the light coming from space.
• The mirrors. To observe the distant galaxies at over 13 billion light-years away. The large mirrors have been used to look back through time when galaxies were young.
• The backplane. The backplane is a large structure that holds and supports the big hexagonal mirrors of the telescope. It works as a ‘spine’ for the telescope.
• The Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) contains these instruments:
• Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). The Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) is Webb's primary imager that will cover the infrared wavelength range 0.6 to 5 microns.
• Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec). The Near InfraRed Spectrograph (NIRSpec) will operate over a wavelength range of 0.6 to 5 microns. A spectrograph (also sometimes called a spectrometer) is used to disperse light from an object into a spectrum.
• Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) has both a camera and a spectrograph that sees light in the mid-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, with wavelengths that are longer than our eyes see.
• Fine Guidance Sensor. To point precisely, so that it can obtain high-quality images. 
• The Near Infrared Imager and slit-less Spectrograph. They are part of the FGS/NIRISS will be used to investigate the following science objectives: first light detection, exoplanet detection and characterization, and exoplanet transit spectroscopy.
• Sunshield. To protect the telescope from external sources of light and heat (like the Sun, Earth, and Moon) as well as from heat emitted by the observatory itself.
• Spacecraft Bus. It provides the necessary support functions for the operation of the Webb Observatory. The bus is the home for six major subsystems.

Pre-Launch Challenges:

NASA allocated the project of telescope construction to the Northrop Grumman company in 2002 and estimated to be launched to space in 2010.

After years of delays including a combination of factors brought on by the pandemic and technical challenges, the telescope was initially planned to be launched in 2018, however, NASA couldn’t materialize the plan yet again.

At last, it was planned to be blasted off on 18 Dec 2021 but yet again the mother nature obstructed NASA’s plan till the final launch.

Conclusion:

JWST project will benefit the field of astronomy and the entire world. It will further advance the research to find out the pieces of evidence of life on other parts of the universe by looking beyond space and back forth in time: It will also answer about the big bang phenomena and creation of the universe. It will cascade the understanding starts, planets and galaxies about their origin, by looking in other celestial universal bodies and the objects of the solar system. On the whole, NASA earns success in project despite delays. The project will depict the future progress and development of space technology.