According to details of the telescope's operation, most micrometeorite impacts hit the large mirror of the James
“One micrometeorite impact occurred between May 22 and May 24, 2022, it was more powerful than previously thought, so further investigation and modeling was carried out,” the report says.
Scientists expected that Webb could encounter potentially dangerous micrometeorites about once a month.
However, it is unknown whether such a large impact was truly a rare event or whether the mirror may become a more frequent target for micrometeoroids than predicted during the modeling phase.
During the commissioning period from the end of January toJune 2022, while ground controllers were calibrating, aligning and testing Webb's mirrors and instruments, the primary mirror withstood a total of six micrometeorite impacts.
The project took 20 years and $10 billion to complete, after which the telescope was sent into space at the end of 2021.
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