The 'Next Generation Telescope' is Almost Fully Operational!

Photo from Science.org

The James Webb Space Telescope lifted off of Earth and headed for space on December 21st, 2021. Since then, it has gone through 6 out of 7 stages to being fully and completely operational. The last step is cooling down the mirrors so they can operate in the best possible conditions.

Right now, the temperatures are cold enough to operate normally according to Nasa.

On April 7, Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) – a joint development by NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) – reached its final operating temperature below 7 kelvins (minus 447 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 266 degrees Celsius).

But letting them get even colder will help with the motors and devices that create heat during its use. So, there’s not much time until the most advanced telescope ever launched into space will begin taking pictures of the earliest galaxies in the universe.

The mission of the James Webb Space Telescope is to look back at the big bang and into the history of our universe. There’s also talk that part of its mission is to look for signs of extra terrestrials.