Webb Telescope Instrument Completes Cryogenic Testing

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Whitney Clavin (818) 354-4673
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
whitney.clavin@jpl.nasa.gov

News release: 2011-258 Aug. 18, 2011

Webb Telescope Instrument Completes Cryogenic Testing

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-258&cid=release_2011-258

A pioneering camera and spectrometer that will fly aboard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope
has completed cryogenic testing designed to mimic the harsh conditions it will experience in space.

The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) underwent testing inside the thermal space test chamber at the
Science and Technology Facilities Council's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Space in Oxfordshire,
U.K. The sophisticated instrument is designed to examine the first light in the universe and the
formation of planets around other stars.

A team of more than 50 scientists from 11 countries tested MIRI for 86 days, representing the
longest and most exhaustive testing at cryogenic temperatures of an astronomy instrument in Europe
prior to delivery for its integration into a spacecraft.

"The successful completion of the test program, involving more than 2,000 individual tests, marks a
major milestone for the Webb telescope mission," said Matthew Greenhouse, Webb telescope
project scientist for the Science Instrument Payload, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md.

Along with the Webb telescope's other instruments, MIRI will help scientists better understand how
the universe formed following the Big Bang and ultimately developed star systems that may be
capable of supporting life. In particular, scientists hope to explore young planets around distant stars
that are shrouded by gas and dust when viewed in visible light. Because infrared light penetrates
these obstructions, MIRI can acquire images of planetary nurseries sharper than ever before
possible. With its spectrometer, MIRI could potentially reveal the existence of water on these planets
as well, informing future investigations into their habitability for humans.

To capture some of the earliest, infrared light in the cosmos, MIRI has to be cooled to 7 Kelvin
(minus 266 Celsius, or minus 447 Fahrenheit), which brings tough challenges for testing the
instrument. Inside the RAL Space thermal space test chamber, specially constructed shrouds, cooled
to 40 Kelvin (minus 233 Celsius, or minus 388 Fahrenheit), surround MIRI while scientists observe
simulated background stars. The tests were designed to ensure that MIRI can operate successfully in
the cold vacuum of space and allow scientists to gather vital calibration and baseline data.

The MIRI team is now analyzing data from the cryogenic test campaign, completing remaining
"warm testing," and will prepare the instrument for delivery to NASA Goddard. There it will be
integrated with the other instruments, and the telescope.

"Thousands of astronomers will use the Webb telescope to extend the reach of human knowledge far
beyond today's limits. Just as the Hubble Space Telescope rewrote textbooks everywhere, Webb will
find new surprises and help to answer some of the most pressing questions in astronomy," said John
Mather, Nobel laureate and Webb senior project scientist at NASA Goddard.

MIRI was built by scientists and engineers from European countries, NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and several U.S. institutions. Its focal plane modules, related
electronics and software were built at JPL. The instrument's cooler is being built by Northrop
Grumman Space Technologies in Redondo Beach, Calif., and managed by JPL.

The Webb telescope is a partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian
Space Agency.

For more information about MIRI, visit http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/miri.html . For more
information about the Webb telescope, visit http://jwst.nasa.gov .

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