A new universe

JWST will enhance the understanding of stars and galaxies

The 25-year saga of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) offers object lessons illustrating the difficulties in doing pure science, and the way international cooperation can overcome such difficulties. It took a combined effort from America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to launch the JWST, and the lifetime mission cost will be over $10 billion. The concept of placing a telescope at a Lagrange Point (L-point) was mooted many years ago. L-Points are areas in space where the gravitational pulls of earth, the sun, and the moon cancel.