NASA has reported that it has discovered a software bug in the James Webb Space Telescope that has stopped research activities related to the use of this instrument. which will delay the observation and discovery of new exoplanets and galaxies.
Space agency scientists explained that the problem they identified affects the NIRISS spectrograph (near infrared thermal and slitless spectrograph). They explained that the rest of the components and gauges are in perfect condition and can therefore be used for future research.
To solve the problem, NASA indicated that they were working with the Canadian Space Agency, which was responsible for making the spectrograph.
“There are no signs of any danger to the equipment, and the observatory and other instruments are in good condition. Affected scientific observations will be rescheduled.
What failures did the James Webb Space Telescope bring?
Since launching in December 2021, the James Webb Telescope has experienced a host of problems that have impacted its ability to observe space.. Among these failures is one that occurred in August 2022, when one of the segments of the mid-infrared instrument (MIRI) began to emit friction signals.
As a result, the specified component had to be deactivated while the check was carried out to determine the cause of the problem.
Subsequently, another software glitch was also reported, activating the safe mode of the telescope, preventing scientists from working normally.. After almost two weeks, experts were able to find the cause of the error and eliminate it.
While the current setback poses a problem for surveillance efforts, it needs to be clarified that scientists still have a large body of data to analyze.
This is due to the large amount of data that James Webb was able to send, who is estimated to have sent several terabytes of data and valuable information to the scientific community since the start of work.