With its mirrors and instruments all fully aligned, Webb is undertaking the next big step in getting ready for science: Commissioning the instruments.
The James Webb Space Telescope is inching closer to beginning its science mission. With the mirrors and instruments all fully aligned, Webb is undertaking the next big step in getting ready for science operations this summer: Commissioning the instruments. Webb has four instruments, the Near-Infrared Camera , Near-Infrared Spectrometer , Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrometer / Fine Guidance Sensor , and the Mid-Infrared Instrument .
Then it’s on to the instrument calibrations, in which each instrument collects data from a known target and is then tweaked to ensure it is accurate, as Scott Friedman, lead commissioning scientist for Webb, explained in a NASA blog post: The Large Magellanic Cloud is a well-known astronomical object, which has previously been observed with great accuracy by the Hubble Space Telescope. That means the engineers have a very good comparison for what they should be seeing with Webb. This allows them to calibrate the tiny optical distortions in the instruments and allow for them.
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NASA promises James Webb Space Telescope commissioning update MondayElizabeth Howell, Ph.D., is a contributing writer for Space.com since 2012. As a proud Trekkie and Canadian, she tackles topics like spaceflight, diversity, science fiction, astronomy and gaming to help others explore the universe. Elizabeth's on-site reporting includes two human spaceflight launches from Kazakhstan, and embedded reporting from a simulated Mars mission in Utah. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, and a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University. Her latest book, NASA Leadership Moments, is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday.
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NASA promises James Webb Space Telescope commissioning update MondayElizabeth Howell, Ph.D., is a contributing writer for Space.com since 2012. As a proud Trekkie and Canadian, she tackles topics like spaceflight, diversity, science fiction, astronomy and gaming to help others explore the universe. Elizabeth's on-site reporting includes two human spaceflight launches from Kazakhstan, and embedded reporting from a simulated Mars mission in Utah. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, and a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University. Her latest book, NASA Leadership Moments, is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday.
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