This was something NASA anticipated while building it.
Between May 23 and 25, the James Webb Space Telescope was hit by a micrometeoroid that has impacted one of its primary mirror segments,on its website. The telescope continues to function at levels exceeding mission requirements.
Outer space, however, does not have any atmosphere, and spacecraft are at high risk from these particles. Even though their size might be small, micrometeoroids travel at extreme velocities and are one of the greatest factors space agencies take into account when building spacecraft, and theEngineers at NASA were well aware of the harsh environment at the L2 orbit that the JWST would occupy.
To gain information on how to fortify the spacecraft against micrometeoroids, engineers used a mix of simulations as well as actual test impacts on mirror samples. Additionally, the space telescope's design allows the position of its mirrors to be adjusted to cancel out the distortion an impact may create.
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