The micrometeoroid that hit the James Webb Space Telescope in May caused significantly more damage than expected and will have a lasting impact on the telescope’s observations, according to a NASA report on the spacecraft’s performance. By contrast, other micrometeoroid impacts during the spacecraft’s first six months of operation have had a negligible effect.
The report contains an image showing the damage to one hexagonal segment of the observatory’s main mirror, called C3. “The single micrometeorite impact that occurred between 22-24 May 2022 exceeded prelaunch expectations of damage for a single micrometeoroid,” says the NASA report.
