“Webb, welcome home!”, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson was quoted as saying in a NASA statement.
He congratulated the team for all of their hard work ensuring Webb’s safe arrival at L2. He said that we are one step closer to uncovering the mysteries of the universe.
Webb is likely to send its first images of the universe this summer.
Why Was L2 Chosen As Webb’s Home?
Webb can get a wide view of the cosmos at any given moment, because of its orbit.
Also, the orbit provides the opportunity for Webb’s telescope optics and scientific instruments to get cold enough to function and perform optimal science, according to NASA.
During its voyage to L2, Webb used as little as propellant as possible for course corrections. The reason behind this was to leave as much remaining propellant as possible for Webb’s ordinary operations over its lifetime. These operations include station-keeping (small adjustments to keep Webb in its desired orbit) and momentum unloading to counteract the effects of solar radiation pressure on the huge sunshield.
Bill Ochs, Webb project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said that JWST has achieved amazing success during the past month, and is a tribute to all the folks who spent many years and even decades to ensure mission success, according to the statement.
Next, Webb will align the mirrors, activate and commit the instruments, and begin wondrous and astonishing discoveries.
At L2, Webb’s sunshield will protect it from light from the Sun, Earth, and Moon that could interfere with observations of infrared light.
The JWST is a powerful time machine with infrared vision that will look back in time, more than 13.5 billion years, to see the first stars and galaxies forming out of the darkness of the early universe.
The space observatory will use infrared light to observe celestial objects with much higher resolution than ever before, and to study our own solar system as well as distant worlds.
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