![]() Webb’s first observations were selected by a group of representatives from NASA, ESA, CSA, and the Space Telescope Science Institute: “My colleagues and I are eager to see what Webb can do and what surprises await us with its unprecedented combination of sharpness and sensitivity.” “Working on this mission has been one of the biggest highlights and most rewarding parts of my career,” says Macarena Garcia Marin, MIRI ESA Instrument Scientist. “As we now begin regular science operations, I know the European astronomical community cannot wait to see the results of the observing time they have won for Webb's first year.” “This is the start of a new era viewing the Universe and making exciting scientific discoveries with Webb,” says Günther Hasinger, ESA’s Director of Science. Today’s images and spectra reveal the capabilities of all four of Webb’s state-of-the-art scientific instruments and confirm that the observations ahead will revolutionise our understanding of the cosmos and our own origins. “I want to thank everyone involved with commissioning of this magnificent telescope and the delivery of these first incredible products from Webb for making this historic day a reality.” “These first images and spectra from Webb are a huge celebration of the international collaboration that made this ambitious mission possible,” says Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General. I can’t wait to see the discoveries that we uncover – the team is just getting started!” We take dreams and turn them into reality for the benefit of humanity. “The Webb team’s incredible success is a reflection of what NASA does best. “These images, including the deepest infrared view of our universe that has ever been taken, show us how Webb will help to uncover the answers to questions we don’t even yet know to ask questions that will help us better understand our universe and humanity’s place within it. “Today, we present humanity with a groundbreaking new view of the cosmos from the James Webb Space Telescope – a view the world has never seen before,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. Webb’s first observations tell the story of the hidden universe through every phase of cosmic history – from neighbouring exoplanets to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe, to everything in between. The telescope’s first full-colour images and spectroscopic data, which uncover a spectacular collection of cosmic features that have remained elusive until now, were released today. ![]() “We want to know: Where did we come from? What happened after the big bang to make galaxies and stars and black holes? We have predictions and guesses, but astronomy is an observational science, full of surprises.The dawn of a new era in astronomy has begun as the world gets its first look at the full capabilities of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. Scientific observations, proposed years ago, are being made as we speak,” Mather said. “What comes next? All the tools are working, better than we hoped and promised. The first images were anticipated by Mather for 25 years. “We’ll look at our own solar system with new infrared eyes, looking for chemical traces of our history, and tracking down mysteries like Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, composition of the ocean under the ice of Europa, and the atmosphere of Saturn’s giant moon Titan,” said John Mather, Webb senior project scientist at NASA Goddard, in a statement. Interactive: The search for life on Mars and ocean worlds in our solar system This is especially exciting because it means that Webb may also be able to observe plumes of material releasing into space from ocean worlds in our solar system, like Europa or Saturn’s moon Enceladus. These robots could search for life in our solar system's ocean worlds Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech JPL-Caltech/NASA ![]() In the Sensing With Independent Micro-Swimmers (SWIM) concept, illustrated here, dozens of small robots would descend through the icy shell of a distant moon via a cryobot to the ocean below.
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