Skip to main content

NASA just dropped an exciting update about the Webb space telescope

As the James Webb Space Telescope continues to gradually unfurl ahead of its mission to explore the universe, NASA has dropped some exciting news about the longevity of the observatory.

Originally expected to last between five and 10 years, the space agency revealed on Wednesday that following the latest analysis of its propellant levels, the James Webb Space Telescope could be peering into deep space for “significantly” longer than a decade.

“The Webb team has analyzed its initial trajectory and determined the observatory should have enough propellant to allow support of science operations in orbit for significantly more than a 10-year science lifetime,” the space agency said.

The update came after analysis revealed that less propellant than originally planned will be required to put Webb on course for its destination orbit around L2, a point nearly a million miles from Earth that the observatory is expected to reach toward the end of January.

NASA said the extra propellant was mainly the result of a very precise launch that carried the telescope to space on December 25. Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket “exceeded the requirements needed to put Webb on the right path,” and along with the precision of the first mid-course correction maneuver, has given Webb the best possible start to its mission.

But in a note of caution, NASA added that “many factors could ultimately affect Webb’s duration of operation.”

The spacecraft carrying Webb uses propellant not only for reaching its destination orbit but also for necessary functions during the mission’s lifetime, “including ‘station keeping’ maneuvers — small thruster burns to adjust Webb’s orbit — as well as what’s known as momentum management, which maintains Webb’s orientation in space,” the space agency explained.

Mission goals

Continuing the work of the venerable Hubble Space Telescope — whose own mission has so far lasted more than double the originally expected 15-year time frame — the Webb mission hopes to find out more about the origins of the universe while also searching for distant planets that may support life.

While today’s news of Webb’s potentially extended life is an exciting development, it should be noted that the telescope first has to become fully operational by perfectly executing all of the necessary deployment steps in the coming weeks.

They include the unfurling of the enormous sunshield — a process that is happening right now and expected to take several days to complete — and also the deployment of the large, golden mirror.

Only when Webb has fully deployed and reached its destination orbit will the mission team be able to relax as the telescope fires up for the first time for a highly anticipated mission that will hopefully unlock some of the secrets of the universe.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Researchers discover a 320-mph jet stream around Jupiter’s equator
This image of Jupiter from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) shows stunning details of the majestic planet in infrared light. In this image, brightness indicates high altitude. The numerous bright white "spots" and "streaks" are likely very high-altitude cloud tops of condensed convective storms. Auroras, appearing in red in this image, extend to higher altitudes above both the northern and southern poles of the planet. By contrast, dark ribbons north of the equatorial region have little cloud cover. In Webb’s images of Jupiter from July 2022, researchers recently discovered a narrow jet stream traveling 320 miles per hour (515 kilometers per hour) sitting over Jupiter’s equator above the main cloud decks.

The James Webb Space Telescope might be best known for its study of extremely distant galaxies, but it is also used for research on targets closer to home, like planets within our solar system. Last year, the telescope captured a stunning image of Jupiter as seen in the infrared wavelength, and now scientists who have been working on this data have published some of their findings about the planet -- including a brand-new feature that they identified in its atmosphere.

This image of Jupiter from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) shows stunning details of the majestic planet in infrared light. In Webb’s images of Jupiter from July 2022, researchers recently discovered a narrow jet stream traveling 320 miles per hour (515 kilometers per hour) sitting over Jupiter’s equator above the main cloud decks. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Ricardo Hueso (UPV), Imke de Pater (UC Berkeley), Thierry Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Michael H. Wong (UC Berkeley), Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Read more
James Webb captures a gorgeous stellar nursery in nearby dwarf galaxy
This new infrared image of NGC 346 from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) traces emission from cool gas and dust. In this image blue represents silicates and sooty chemical molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. More diffuse red emission shines from warm dust heated by the brightest and most massive stars in the heart of the region. Bright patches and filaments mark areas with abundant numbers of protostars. This image includes 7.7-micron light shown in blue, 10 microns in cyan, 11.3 microns in green, 15 microns in yellow, and 21 microns in red (770W, 1000W, 1130W, 1500W, and 2100W filters, respectively).

A gorgeous new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a stunning sight from one of our galactic neighbors. The image shows a region of star formation called NGC 346, where new stars are being born. It's located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that is a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way.

The star-forming region of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) was previously imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2005, but this new image gives a different view as it is taken in the infrared wavelength by Webb instead of the optical light wavelength used by Hubble.

Read more
Zoom into an incredibly detailed James Webb image of the Orion nebula
A short-wavelength NIRCam mosaic of the inner Orion Nebula and Trapezium Cluster.

A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the majesty of the gorgeous Orion nebula in tremendous detail. The European Space Agency (ESA) has shared an extremely high-resolution version of the image that you can zoom into to see the details of this stunning cloud of dust and gas which hosts sites of star formation where new stars are being born.

The full image is available to view in the ESASky application, where you can zoom in a compare images of the same target taken in different wavelengths. There's also a very large version of the image if you want to download and pursue it at your leisure.

Read more