NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is set for launch on a European Ariane rocket from French Guiana at approximately 7:20 Eastern time. It’s the largest space observatory to date, and its main task will be to collect infrared light from the distant corners of the cosmos, allowing scientists to probe the structures and origins of our universe like never before.
Unlike its predecessors, the Webb’s four infrared instruments are capable of detecting their own infrared glow. However, reducing those emissions require the instruments have to be really cold – around 40 kelvins, or minus 388° Fahrenheit. The detectors inside the mid-infrared instrument, or MIRI, need to be even colder – minus 448° Fahrenheit – to operate properly.
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Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope onboard, is rolled out to the launch pad, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021, at Europe’s Spaceport, the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. The James Webb Space Telescope is a large infrared telescope with a 21.3 foot (6.5 meter) primary mirror,” said the agency.
