Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, April 26 (Xinhua)-- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has observed a sensor failure in a key instrument of the James Webb Space Telescope, which was launched on December 25, 2021 and is currently undergoing various performance tests and calibrations.

The failure occurred in an observation mode of the telescope's mid-infrared instrument (MIRI), which is called moderate resolution spectroscopy (MRS). NASA staff examined the data and found that the mode received less light than expected and only occurred in the longest wavelength range. This problem does not affect the imaging function of the MIRI, nor does it pose a risk to the instrument.

"an analysis of MIRI's medium-resolution spectral mode shows that at the longest wavelength, the throughput, or the amount of light eventually recorded by MIRI's sensors, is lower than during last year's calibration," NASA said in a mission update. The update also said that no MIRI imaging was affected or posed a risk to the instrument, and that "all other observation modes, including those of MIRI and other scientific instruments of the telescope, were not affected."

The James Webb Space Telescope team said they would continue to observe MIRI as planned and collect all relevant ground test and flight data to fully assess MRS performance. They will also conduct more test observations to fully determine the nature of the problem. In addition, they will analyze the cause of the problem, identify risks, and explore mitigation measures that may improve performance. One possible mitigation strategy is to use a slightly longer exposure time at the affected wavelengths to improve the signal-to-noise ratio.

As far as CTOnews.com knows, this is not the first time MIRI has experienced a MRS failure. Between August and November last year, one of the raster wheels of the instrument got stuck, but MIRI can still use other modes to observe.

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