On Oct. 12th, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) arrived safely at Port de Pariacabo in French Guiana after spending 16 days traveling between California and South America. Since then, the observatory was transported from California to French Guiana and brought to a cleanroom in the Guyanese Space Center (GSC). Here, crews “unboxed” the observatory from its protective cargo container in preparation for launch – now targetted for Dec. 18th.
These events were captured in a series of beautiful images recently shared by the Guyanese Space Center, the European Space Agency (ESA), and NASA via their JWST Twitter accounts (more are posted on the NASA JWST Flickr page). This process involved carefully lifting the telescope from its packing container and raising it vertically, the same configuration Webb its launches to space aboard an Ariane 5 rocket.
The voyage began with the James Webb being transported from Northrop Grumman’s headquarters in Redondo Beach, California, which is where the foldable observatory underwent final tests to ensure that it would deploy and operate properly once it reached space. By late August, the testing was complete, and engineers spent another month folding the observatory up and placing it in a protective container for transport.
The JWST being removed from its protective container. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace
It was then loaded aboard the MN Colibri (a French cargo vessel) and began its journey down the coast towards the Panama Canal and French Guiana. With the mission safely there in one piece, the crews have unpacked it and set it in its launch configuration. Soon, it will be loaded aboard a payload capsule atop an Ariane 5 rocket and take off from the ESA’s Spaceport in Kourou. The transportation of Webb from California to the launch site, and the launch services that will be provided soon, are part of the ESA’s contribution to the mission.
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is also a contributor, having provided Webb‘s Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) and Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS). These will allow the telescope to point at and focus on objects of interest and assist in studying exoplanets, distant galaxies, and other types of astronomical objects (respectively). In exchange, Canadian scientists will receive a guaranteed allotment of Webb‘s observation time.
This launch, and everything that helped make it possible, is something that the astronomical community has waited for almost thirty years to see. Planning began in the mid-90s, a few years after the Hubble Space Telescope and Compton Gamma Ray Observatory‘s successful deployment. With two more “Great Observatories” preparing to go to space by the early 2000s – the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Spitzer Infrared Space Telescope – NASA planners began contemplating what the next step would be.
In 1996, these plansculminated with the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) project. In 2002, it was renamed after James Webb (1906-1992), NASA’s second administrator (from 1961–1968), who played a central role in the Apollo Program. NASA will be holding a series of virtual media briefings and events in the weeks leading up to the launch, starting with a media briefing on the engineering and spacecraft deployments on Tues. Nov. 2nd.
The JWST being removed from its protective container. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace
This will be followed by a morning and afternoon briefing on Thurs. Nov. 18th, which will address the science goals and science instruments (respectively). The full schedule can be found here. These events are intended to convey the significance of this mission and the scientific breakthroughs that are anticipated. As NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a recent NASA press statement:
“The James Webb Space Telescope is a colossal achievement, built to transform our view of the universe and deliver amazing science. Webb will look back over 13 billion years to the light created just after the big bang, with the power to show humanity the farthest reaches of space that we have ever seen. We are now very close to unlocking mysteries of the cosmos, thanks to the skills and expertise of our phenomenal team.”
This mission has been a long time in the making and has become only more poignant with all of the delays in the past few years. Some of this arose from budget constraints and the recent pandemic and from the fact that the JWST is the largest, most complex, and most sophisticated observatory ever launched. To ensure that nothing goes wrong and servicing missions are needed to get it in working order (as was the case with Hubble), every system needed to be rigorously tested and every “anomaly” worked out in advance.
Once deployed and operational, the James Webb mission will be the premier space science observatory for the next decade. Before this decade is over, it will be joined by the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (RST), named after the “Mother of Hubble.” These and other next-generation observatories will survey the large-scale structure of the cosmos, aid in the search for extraterrestrial life, and unlock some of the deepest mysteries about our Universe!
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
