Even the most powerful space telescope ever launched faces challenges from time to time. Launched in December 2021 and making scientific observations since July 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST or Webb) stunned the world with its exquisite photographs and groundbreaking data. However, in a statement from NASA on January 24, on January 15, the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) It was stated that the device “experienced a communication delay within the device and the flight software timed out”. In the statement, it was emphasized that NIRISS cannot be used for science yet.
According to NASA representatives, "there is no evidence of any danger to the hardware, and the observatory and other instruments are all in good condition." Rescheduled science observations will be made in affected cases.
According to the announcement, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), which contributes to NIRISS, is working with NASA to resolve the issue.
According to NASA, NIRISS can operate in four different modes under normal conditions. While JWST's other tools are in use, it can function as a camera. It can also perform high-contrast imaging, analyze light fingerprints to study the atmospheres of minor exoplanets, and has a mode designed to identify distant galaxies.
NIRISS isn't the only JWST tool facing challenges. The Observatory's Intermediate Infrared Instrument (MIRI) began showing signs of friction in August. Staff paused these observations as they continued their work in the other three modes of MIRI because the wheel is used in only one of the instrument's four observation modes.
By November, technicians had identified the source of the problem and were trying to create instructions for operating the affected mode, the Medium Resolution Spectrometer.
In addition, the observatory suffered from a bug that kept the telescope in safe mode for two weeks in December, preventing scientists from making science observations. The problem was determined to be a software error in the observatory's attitude control system, which regulates which direction the spacecraft should face.
According to NASA's press release at the time, the observatory resumed normal operations on December 20 after resolving this issue.
Exactly one year after JWST reached its outpost at Earth-Sun Lagrange point 1, on the opposite side of the Sun, about 1,5 million miles (2 million kilometers) from Earth, NIRISS was announced.
source: space.com
Günceleme: 30/01/2023 20:10
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