When the James Webb Space Telescope released five breathtaking images of the universe earlier this month, it brought decades of precise engineering and astronomical work to a head. When those images were revealed last week, the build up was so intense that NASA Administrator Bill Nelson compared the scene to a pep rally rather than a supposedly staid scientific gathering.
Yet that pep may have dissipated since last week in light of the recent news that the telescope, despite its immense technological sophistication, has suffered uncorrectable damage due to a micrometeoroid.
