Seeing the First Light

JWST: Built to See the Beginning of Time

• JWST's mirror spans 21.3 feet — almost 3x wider than Hubble's
• It unfolds in space like origami, with over 300 single points of failure
• The five-layer sunshield keeps instruments colder than -370°F
• Over 100 engineers and scientists designed the mirror

JWST Assembled

• 18 hexagonal beryllium mirror segments coated in vaporized gold
• Built to detect the faintest infrared light from ancient galaxies
• JWST has 344 single points of failure — every one had to work perfectly
• Decades in the making, but built to last far beyond

Launch Day: Destination Deep Space

• Launched atop an Ariane 5 rocket on December 25, 2021
• Engineered through a collaboration between NASA, ESA, and CSA
• Traveled nearly 1 million miles to L2, a gravity-stable orbit beyond the Moon

JWST Deployed in Space

• JWST unfolded in space over 30 days: sunshield, mirror, and instruments
• Fully deployed in January 2022 and now orbiting in deep space, JWST peers back over 13 billion years
• It can see exoplanets, stellar nurseries, and even the birth of galaxies
• It's the most advanced space observatory ever created

Deep Space in Detail: Cosmic Birthplaces

• Webb reveals the unseen: baby stars, forming planets, and ancient galaxies
• It captures details invisible to the human eye using infrared light
• Every image is a time machine, peering into the earliest chapters of the universe

Gold mirrors, interstellar light, and a mission powered by wonder — celebrate our boldest leap into the unknown.

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