As viewers around the world followed the launch of the rocket that carries the James Webb Space Telescope on Christmas morning, Canadian scientists who played a pivotal role in its creation were moved.
The telescope, which is a creation of NASA, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the European Space Agency, flew Saturday from French Guiana on the northeast coast of South America, transported by an Ariane rocket.
Astrophysicist Nathalie Ouellette, who is the telescope’s Canadian scientific coordinator, attended the long-awaited launch with her family.
“To see the telescope leave Earth… what a joy for Christmas,” Ouellette said in an interview on Saturday.
” I cried. We took a video to commemorate this moment. The launch went perfectly. “
The telescope will search for unprecedented detail of the first galaxies created after the Big Bang and the development of potentially life-friendly planets beyond our solar system.
For Lisa Campbell, President of the Canadian Space Agency, the launch was the culmination of a 30-year-old dream.
“What an exceptional day,” exclaimed Lisa Campbell.
“It is the most powerful and complex space observatory ever built. “
Canada’s involvement
Canada has been working on the James Webb Space Telescope almost from the start and will be among the first countries to study its findings, she said.
“This is a new step in astronomy, in understanding the universe and our place in it,” added the president of the ASC.
“And these scientific discoveries will be possible thanks to Canada’s expertise in astronomy. “
At least half of the Canadian Astronomical Society’s 600 scientists helped create the telescope, and dozens of engineers are part of its design team.
Nathalie Ouellette noted that the work of the telescope has only just begun.
Most people are familiar with the Hubble Space Telescope – which was launched in 1990 – but Webb should be 100 times more powerful, she said.
“We often refer to Webb as the successor to Hubble,” she explained.
“Webb is much bigger, it will capture more distant objects in low light and deepen the history of the universe. “
The $ 10 billion telescope began to dash toward its destination 1.6 million kilometers, more than four times beyond the moon. It will take a month to get there and another five months before his infrared eyes are ready to start scanning the cosmos.
To achieve this, the telescope will use a detector that guides it with extreme precision (FGS) and a near infrared slitless imager and spectrograph (NIRISS), an instrument that will allow astronomers to observe and study distant galaxies. the atmosphere of exoplanets.
Both of these instruments were designed and built in Canada.
“We are the eyes of the telescope, it is the Canadian eyes that allow all the observations,” said Nathalie Ouellette. Canada had never been involved at this level in this kind of project ”.
The Minister of Innovation, François-Philippe Champagne, issued a statement congratulating Canadian expertise, saying that past investments in space technologies have enabled the country to be “an active partner in this exciting mission”.
“Once again, the Canadian space sector is pushing the boundaries of science and, more importantly, astronomy,” said Mr. Champagne. “The Webb Telescope is the largest scientific space mission in the 60 years of the Canadian space program. “
We are the eyes of the telescope, it is the Canadian eyes that allow all observations.
For Daryl Haggard, professor of physics at McGill University in Montreal and co-researcher for the James Webb Space Telescope, the device is a source of undeniable pride.
“We were watching the video of the launch, and my husband was pointing out that he could see the logo of NASA, but also the Canadian Space Agency, right there on the rocket,” she said, her voice broken. through emotion.
“It’s pretty awesome. “
Daryl Haggard has said she hopes the project will put Canada on the map for its astronomical expertise.
People generally refer to the Canadian Space Arm, but the country does a lot more than that, she said. The robotic arm has participated in US Space Shuttle missions for approximately 30 years starting in 1981.
In return for its contribution to the telescope, Canada is guaranteed to have at least five percent of the telescope’s observation time, once the data begins to arrive in about six months.
Lisa Campbell said this would allow Canadian scientists to continue their studies of exoplanets and black holes, among others.
“We will be able to see phenomena at the origin of the creation of our universe, its history,” she said.
“We often wonder why we explore space, but this will tell us so much. “
With the collaboration of the Associated Press and Bob Weber in Edmonton