The James Webb Space Telescope Gets Ready to Gaze Deep into the Universe

Carrying out the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) ground-breaking mission required powerful technological innovations in optics, detectors, mirrors and a multitude of other areas. JWST's unprecedented scientific power is partly a function of the size and extreme sensitivity of its primary mirror, which collects the images from space. The gold-plated mirror is 21 feet in diameter, giving a collecting area of 273 square feet.