--- title: "NASA Adjusting James Webb Orbit to Get Damaged by Micrometeoroids Less" description: "NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is adjusting its orbit to make sure it won't get pelted with even more micrometeorites." date: "2022-11-20" modified: "2023-02-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-adjusting-james-webb-orbit-meteorites" categories: - "James Webb Space Telescope" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "james webb space telescope" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # NASA Adjusting James Webb Orbit to Get Damaged by Micrometeoroids Less ![NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is adjusting its orbit to make sure it won't get pelted with even more micrometeorites.]() *\Image: NASA/Futurism\* ## Avoidance Zone NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is adjusting its orbit to — hopefully — avoid getting pelted with so many micrometeoroids. "We have experienced 14 measurable micrometeoroid hits on our primary mirror, and are averaging one to two per month, as anticipated," Webb lead mission systems engineer Mike Menzel said in [an update](). "The resulting optical errors from all but one of these were well within what we had budgeted and expected when building the observatory," he added, referring to a [micrometeoroid impact]() that made a larger-than-expected dent in one of the telescope's 18 hexagonal mirror segments earlier this year. Fortunately, despite the noticeable dent in mirror segment C3, "our current optical performance is still twice as good as our requirements," Menzel said. ## Facing Away Now, a working group of experts have decided that while the impact was a statistically rare event, future observations will be made while facing the telescope away from the "micrometeoroid avoidance zone." Why? Because if the telescope is facing the other way, the meteorites that do strike it won't hit it quite so hard. "Micrometeoroids that strike the mirror head on (moving opposite the direction the telescope is moving) have twice the relative velocity and four times the kinetic energy," explained Lee Feinberg, Webb optical telescope element manager, in the update, "so avoiding this direction when feasible will help extend the exquisite optical performance for decades." In other words, James Webb will still be able to observe the same targets — but may have to wait until it reaches a different point in its orbit to do so. **READ MORE:** [NASA Webb Micrometeoroid Mitigation Update]() \[NASA\] **More on James Webb:** *[NASA Fixes Months-Long Issue With James Webb Telescope]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()