Why is there no camera record for James Webb Space Telescope? Three reasons

When Perseverance landed on Mars in February, 200212002, we saw an amazing image of the probe landing on the surface of Mars. However, after the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in June 5438+February 2022, there were no images or videos about the telescope's expansion in space travel and on the way. So why is this? Why aren't there any extra cameras on the james webb?

James webb does have a scientific camera, such as its Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument, which will collect very detailed infrared images of the universe. But it doesn't have any deployed cameras, like those on the perseverance landing system. The basic reason is the operating environment of the telescope.

As shared on space.com's website, at the press conference in June 2022, Julie Van Campen, assistant debugging manager of James Webb Space Telescope at Goddard Space Center of NASA, talked about the reason why Webb didn't have an extra camera.

Durability reason

First of all, there is a practical problem. When Weber first designed and developed, there were not many small, sturdy and affordable cameras like this. It will be a challenge to find a camera that can withstand harsh space conditions, such as very cold temperatures. Campon said: "In cold space, plastic will scatter. They will shrink and the glue will crack ... It takes a lot of engineering and design to make something that can work at the low temperature on the cold side of the sun cover. "

Mild etiology

Another problem is light. Even if there is a camera that can keep out the cold, it may interfere with Weber's extremely sensitive instruments. It is necessary to add lights to illuminate the telescope in a dark space, which is potentially dangerous for fragile instruments. Campon said: "We will need to install some kind of lighting system on the camera system. If you want to do flash photography, there will obviously be problems. Our mirrors are very sensitive. Our internal optical components are very sensitive, and most importantly, so are our detectors. They are always in the depths of our instruments. "

Weber's design makes it only face the sun-the side protected by the telescope's huge visor. The side of the telescope is very shiny, so any camera there must deal with severe glare. On the other side, the telescope is in the dark.

Design reason

The last question is related to the deployment of the Webb Space Telescope. The telescope is folded to accommodate the launch of the rocket, and then it must be carefully unfolded when it is in space. This means that many parts of it have to move around, so the camera may get in the way.

Paul Geithner, deputy manager of the Webber Telescope Technology Project at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, said: "It doesn't sound like a problem to add cameras to observe the unprecedented complex deployment of a precious spacecraft like Webber, but in Webber's case, it is far more than what you see. It is better to add a doorbell camera or even a rocket camera. "