Two weeks after its full deployment and almost a month after its launch, the James Webb Space Telescope has reached the hoped-for location, 1.5 million km from Earth, from where it will be able to observe the first galaxies in the universe. , NASA confirmed on Monday.
"Welcome home, Webb!"
“welcomed the boss of the American space agency, Bill Nelson, in a press release.
“We have taken another step towards uncovering the mysteries of the universe.
And I can't wait to see the first new images of the universe from (the) Webb telescope this summer!
", he added.
.@NASAWebb, welcome home!
And congratulations to the team for all of their hard work ensuring Webb's safe arrival at L2!
https://t.co/tuRa4po2Qy
— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) January 24, 2022
The telescope activated its thrusters to reach the Lagrange 2 point, ideal for observing the cosmos.
At this precise location, the Earth, the Sun and the Moon will all be on the other side of his visor, which will allow him to operate in the dark and in very cold weather, essential for the study. of the first cosmic rays via its infrared sensors.
This is the third time that the telescope has operated its thrusters in this way since its launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket on December 25.
The great impulse provided by the rocket had indeed been deliberately minimized to prevent the instrument from overshooting its target, with no real hope of returning, and it still had to, by small successive pushes, place itself there by itself.
Read alsoJames Webb Space Telescope: why it is the mission of the year
The James Webb telescope, whose cost for NASA is estimated at 10 billion dollars, is one of the most expensive scientific equipment ever built, comparable to its predecessor Hubble or the immense particle accelerator of Cern (European organization for nuclear research), capable of moving particles at 99% of the speed of light.