NASA, the American space agency, and ESA, the European Space Agency, have joined forces to build the James Webb Space Telescope. The technology will make it possible to discover new galaxies and see what the stars were like 13 billion years ago, which was a short time after the Big Bang  (the explosion that gave origin to the Universe).

The telescope will also be able to detect which planets in other galaxies have oxygen, an important element for life. It will be positioned at more than a million kilometres from Earth, a distance that makes it impossible for a human to service the equipment. That is why many tests are being carried out now.

The launch of the telescope is expected to take place in 2021 with a mission that should last close to six years – the equipment has a lifespan of 10 years. After that, it will be disactivated.

How can the telescope see the past?

All stars give out light. This light travels through space at 300 thousand kilometres per second and continues travelling even when the star changes or dies – sunlight, for example, takes eight seconds to reach Earth.

The brightest stars visible to the naked eye in the sky gave out their light close to 500 years ago. But the James Webb Space Telescope will be able to see stars that are so far and so ancient that their light was emitted over 13 billion years ago, and they are still roaming about. With the telescope data, scientists will be able to find out more about what the Universe was like in the past and how the stars were positioned before our planet even appeared.

Glossary

Galaxy: group of celestial bodies, such as stars and planets. The Earth is next to a galaxy called the Milky Way.

Sources: BBC, G1, Galileu, and UOL.

Questions

1) Why does the telescope have to undergo several tests?
a) Because it still has many defects.
b) Because it is only an idea that will be put to work in several years.
c) Because it is not possible for a human being to service it in space.
d) Because no one knows which type of star it will observe.

2) Would you like to work in a space agency, such as NASA?

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