NASA has released a stunning image of the James Webb Space Telescope Primary Mirror being prepared for testing at Johnson Space Center
The image above shows the towering primary mirror of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope inside a cleanroom at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
It is here that it will undergo its last cryogenic test before it is launched into space in 2018.
The photo shows one fully deployed wing (the three segments on each side) and one that is moments from being fully deployed.
What is the James Webb Space Telescope
Image above – The James Webb Space Telescope pushed into the clean room of Building 32 which houses the thermal vacuum chamber where the telescope will have its final thermal vacuum testing.
The James Webb Space Telescope will be the world’s most advanced space observatory when it enters operation.
The Telescope is an engineering marvel and is designed to unravel some of the greatest mysteries of the universe.
Its mission will range from discovering the first stars and galaxies that formed after the big bang to studying the atmospheres of planets around other stars.
The telescope forms part of a joint project of NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.
