[WEBB LIFTOFF 1] “T-MINUS 30 SECONDS AND COUNTING”
ON DECEMBER TWENTY-FIFTH, TWENTY-TWENTY-ONE, A ROCKET ROUGHLY THE SIZE OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY LIFTED OFF IN FRENCH GUIANA. PACKED ONBOARD: THE MOST ADVANCED INFRARED TELESCOPE IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND. THE ROCKET ESCAPED EARTH’S ORBIT AND – WEEKS LATER – THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE REACHED ITS DESTINATION: LAGRANGE POINT 2, A STATIONARY POINT A MILLION MILES AWAY FROM EARTH – PERFECTLY BALANCED BETWEEN THE SUN AND EARTH’S ORBITS. FREE FROM INTERFERENCE.
[WEBB LIFTOFF 3] “DECOLAGE, LIFTOFF. FROM A TROPICAL RAINFOREST TO THE EDGE OF TIME ITSELF, JAMES WEBB BEGINS A VOYAGE BACK TO THE BIRTH OF THE UNIVERSE.”
[CROSSFADE INTO SOUND OF ARIANE 5 ROCKET LAUNCH]
THE FIELD OF ASTRONOMY STANDS ON THE PRECIPICE OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. WEBB HAS FULLY DEPLOYED. IT’S CULMINATED TWO-AND-A-HALF DECADES OF PLANNING AND PRODUCTION – RESULTING IN A DEVICE A HUNDRED TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN THE AGING HUBBLE TELESCOPE.
PEOPLE ARE UNDERSTANDABLY EXCITED, PROBABLY NONE MORE SO THAN THOSE INVOLVED ON THE SCIENTIFIC SIDE OF WEBB. THE ASTRONOMERS WITH PROJECTS APPROVED FOR WEBB’S INITIAL ROUND OF RESEARCH; THE SCIENTISTS AT NASA WHO PUT THE RESEARCH INTO ACTION; AND THE INDIVIDUALS WHO’VE ORGANIZED THIS ENTIRE PROCESS FROM THE VERY START.
JUST LIKE LAUNCHING A SATELLITE INTO SPACE, DISCOVERING THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE WITH THE WEBB TELESCOPE IS A MULTI-STAGED PROCESS.
[CNN SNIPPET] MAN, IF IT ALL COMES TOGETHER THE WAY IT’S SUPPOSED TO, IT’S GOING TO KNOCK OUR SOCKS OFF
[FADE OUT TO SILENCE]
[JOHN MATHER 1] I’M RATHER HOPING THERE’S A DISCOVERY THAT SAYS, GOSH, WE DIDN’T KNOW THAT WAS THERE. WE HAVE TO GO LOOK AT THAT MORE.
THAT’S DR. JOHN MATHER.
[JM 2] I’M SENIOR PROJECT SCIENTIST FOR THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE. AND I WORK AT NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, WHICH IS JUST OUTSIDE WASHINGTON, DC.
IN TWO-THOUSAND-SIX, DR. MATHER RECEIVED THE NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS FOR HIS WORK ON COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION. THOSE DISCOVERIES HELPED CEMENT THE BIG-BANG MODEL AS THE LEADING THEORY BEHIND THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE. HE’S A BIG DEAL IN THE WORLD OF ASTROPHYSICS.
[JM] AS SENIOR PROJECT SCIENTIST, I’M RESPONSIBLE FOR DECIDING WHAT WE OUGHT TO DO, COLLECTIVELY WITH ALL THE SCIENTISTS THAT WE WORK WITH, AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR ENGINEERING TEAM CAN DO THAT. BECAUSE IT’S PRETTY CHALLENGING.
MATHER IS THE LAST ORIGINAL JWST TEAM MEMBER STILL AT NASA – HAVING BEEN THE HEAD SCIENTIST ON WEBB SINCE NINETEEN-NINETY-FIVE WHEN THE PROJECT BEGAN. STRADDLING THE ENGINEERING AND SCIENTIFIC WORLDS, HE HELPED DECIDE THE SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS WOULD BE ABOARD WEBB.
[JM] I GOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INITIAL SKETCH THAT SAID, THIS IS WHAT ASTRONOMERS REALLY WANT. AND LET’S SEE IF WE CAN FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. … WE HAD COMMITTEES AND COMMITTEES AND COMMITTEES. AND WE ARGUED AND ARGUED.
THE ENGINEERING TO GET WEBB IN L2 ORBIT IS COMPLICATED ENOUGH, BUT SETTLING ON THE BEST TOOLS TO PACK IS A BEAST UNTO ITSELF. SURE, THERE’VE BEEN INFRARED SPACE TELESCOPES BEFORE, BUT NEVER ONE IN AN ORBIT SO FAR AWAY AS WEBB. MESS UP, AND REALIZE THE SCREW YOU’RE TRYING TO LOOSEN DOESN’T FIT THE PHILLIPS HEAD SCREWDRIVER IN YOUR POCKET, AND THE TOOL CABINET IS A MILLION MILES AWAY.
[JM] BASICALLY, WE SAID, WELL, WE’VE GOT THESE WONDERFUL SCIENTIFIC CHALLENGES, AND HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY OBSERVE SOMETHING THAT WOULD TELL YOU THE ANSWER?
MATHER AND NASA NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THE TOOLS ABOARD WEBB WERE THE RIGHT ONES FOR THE PRESENT MOMENT, AND THE FUTURE.
[JM] BASICALLY, WE SAID, WELL, WE’VE GOT THESE WONDERFUL SCIENTIFIC CHALLENGES, AND HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY OBSERVE SOMETHING THAT WOULD TELL YOU THE ANSWER? SO THE UPSHOT WAS, IT’S SEVEN TOO HARD TO ANTICIPATE WHAT SCIENTISTS WANT TO DO 10, 20, 30 YEARS IN THE FUTURE, WE’D BETTER HAVE A GENERAL PURPOSE SET OF TOOLS.
NASA SETTLED ON FOUR SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS: A NEAR INFARED SPECTROGRAPH AND CAMERA – CALLED NIRSPEC AND NIRCAM RESPECTIVELY; A MID-INFRARED INSTRUMENT CALLED MIRI; AND A COMBINATION FINE GUIDANCE SENSOR AND NEAR INFRARED IMAGING TOOL. EACH OF THESE INSTRUMENTS INCLUDE COMPONENTS COMMONLY FOUND IN RESEARCH TELESCOPES, INCLUDING THE SPECTROMETER ABOARD.
[JM] WE HEAR THAT A PICTURE’S WORTH A THOUSAND. W WELL FOR AN ASTRONOMER, A SPECTRUM IS WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES. THE SPECTROMETER TELLS YOU THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THAT. HOW, HOW DID THIS, HOW IT’S MOVING AND SOMETIMES EVEN MORE LIKE WHAT’S THE PRESSURE. WE EXPEND A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT TO GET A SPECTRUM OF AN OBJECT.
WEBB ALSO HAS ITS OWN SETS OF SPECIALIZED COMPONENTS TO ADDRESS ITS UNIQUE SITUATION. IT’S THE ONLY SPACE TELESCOPE EQUIPPED WITH A MICROSHUTTER ARRAY – A GRID OF A QUARTER-MILLION TINY SHUTTERS THAT CAN BE OPENED AND CLOSED INDIVIDUALLY. THIS ALLOWS WEBB TO CAPTURE SPECTROMETRY DATA FOR A HUNDRED INDIVIDUAL OBJECTS IN A SINGLE LIGHT EXPOSURE.
[JM] THE WAY WE FROM OUR PROJECT SIDE THAT DID IT WAS WHERE WE’RE GOING TO BUILD THE TOOL. AND THEN WE’RE GOING TO ASK THE THE ASTRONOMY WORLD OKAY, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO WORK ON TODAY? SO WE ASKED THEM ALL TO SEND IT IN PROPOSALS.
[CHARLIE KILPATRICK] ALL THESE ELEMENTS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED … WE STILL ARE TRYING TO TRACK DOWN WHERE THEY COME FROM IN THE UNIVERSE.
THAT’S DR. CHARLIE KILPATRICK. HE WORKS AS A POSTDOC FELLOW AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, IN THE CENTER FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH IN ASTROPHYSICS.
[CK 1] I MOSTLY STUDY THINGS THAT CHANGE ON THE SKY ON SORT OF DAY TO WEEK TIMESCALES.
IN OTHER WORDS, KILPATRICK SPENDS HIS TIME LOOKING AT SUPERNOVAE, FAST RADIO BURSTS, AND OTHER EXPLOSIONS THAT HAPPEN IN SPACE.
[CK 2] I MOSTLY DO THAT WITH OPTICAL AND INFRARED TELESCOPES ON THE GROUND … AND THEN OF COURSE, SPACE- BASED TELESCOPES. SO PRIMARILY HUBBLE IN THE PAST, AND YEAH, NOW I HAVE THE JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE.
TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS AGO, DR. KILPATRICK WAS STUDYING SUPERNOVAE AND HOW THEY PRODUCE ELEMENTS LIKE OXYGEN AND SILICON.
[CK 3] WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE ALL OF THE ELEMENTS THAT SUPERNOVAE PRODUCES AND SORT OF ADD THEM UP, AND INFER HOW MUCH EJECTA IT PRODUCED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
THIS METHODOLOGY – KILPATRICK THOUGHT – COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED TO STUDY ANOTHER PHENOMENON CALLED A “KILANOVA.” WHEREAS A SUPERNOVA FORMS AFTER A SINGLE STAR COLLAPSES IN ON ITSELF – A KILONOVA IS WHEN A NEUTRON STAR CAREENS INTO ANOTHER NEUTRON STAR AND TEARS THE SMALLER ONE APART.
[CK 4] SUPERNOVAE GO THROUGH THE EXACT SAME NEBULAR PHASE AS A KILONOVA IS EXPECTED TO GO THROUGH … THAT MATERIAL THAT GETS FLUNG OFF IS THE SUBJECT OF WHERE WE THINK THIS HIGH ENERGY PROCESS CALLED … RAPID NEUTRON CAPTURE HAPPENS. AND THAT’S WHAT FORMS THESE HEAVY ELEMENTS WE’RE TRYING TO FIND. … SO I WAS THINKING ABOUT THAT, AND THEN HOW THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE WILL BE REALLY SENSITIVE IN THE INFRARED.
HE HYPOTHESIZED THAT KILONOVAE COULD BE THE SOURCE BEHIND THE UNIVERSE’S HEAVIER ELEMENTS. SO HE FILLED OUT A PROJECT PROPOSAL WITH HIMSELF AS THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR.
[CK] FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO SAY EXACTLY WHERE ELEMENTS LIKE NEODYMIUM, AND HEAVY ELEMENTS THAT ARE SORT OF AROUND THAT, THAT ONE ON THE PERIODIC TABLE ARE FORMED. SO THAT’S A HUGE DRAW IN TERMS OF HOW JAMES WEBB WOULD BE ABLE TO SORT OF TAKE A, LIKE A QUALITATIVE STEP FORWARD INTO THE NEXT GENERATION OF NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS.
KILPATRICK AT THIS POINT HAD THE SCIENTIFIC JUSTIFICATION FOR THE PROJECT: THE METHOD, THE GOAL, AND THE BELIEF THAT THIS COULD LEAD TO A HUGE DISCOVERY.
[CK] AFTER THAT WAS REALLY THE HARD WORK OF LIKE, PROVING THAT IT WOULD BE ACTUALLY PRACTICAL TO DO.
TO WRITE UP THE ACTUAL PROJECT PROPOSAL, KILPATRICK AND HIS TEAM USED A SPECIALLY MADE COMPUTER PROGRAM CALLED THE “ASTRONOMER’S PROPOSAL TOOL.” THEY SPECIFIED WHAT OBSERVATIONS THEY WANTED WEBB TO DO. THAT MEANS MARKING DOWN THE INSTRUMENTS WEBB SHOULD USE, THE EXACT TARGET IN SPACE WHERE WEBB SHOULD LOOK, HOW MANY HOURS TO SPEND LOOKING, STUFF LIKE THAT.
[CK] WE HAD THIS HUGE EFFORT OVER THE COURSE OF LIKE, THREE OR FOUR WEEKS WHERE WE WERE COLLABORATING ON THIS PROPOSAL, BUT ALSO SOME OTHER ONES THAT ARE ALSO RELATED TO KILONOVAE TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER THIS WOULD WORK AND THEN WRITE EVERYTHING TOGETHER.
WHEN THE DEADLINE CAME, KILPATRICK SENT THE PROPOSAL IN FOR REVIEW. IT SHOULD BE NOTED ALL OF THIS WORK OCCURRED WHILE KILPATRICK AND THE OTHER SCIENTISTS ON THE TEAM WROTE OTHER PROPOSALS FOR WEBB. HARDLY ANY ASTRONOMER WORKS ON JUST ONE PROPOSAL.
[CK] I ONLY SUBMITTED THIS ONE PROPOSAL AS AS PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR. SO YEAH, I THINK, IN THE PAST, LIKE FOR THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, I OFTEN SUBMITTED TWO OR EVEN THREE PROPOSALS AT A TIME, BUT I WAS JUST THINKING ‘WELL, THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PROPOSAL, AND I DON’T WANT TO HAVE TO, LIKE SPLIT MY ATTENTION BETWEEN ALL THESE OTHER EFFORTS’.
[CHRISTINE CHEN 1] SO I ACTUALLY HAVE TWO PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED, ONE IS AS A GUARANTEED TIME OBSERVER
THAT’S DR. CHRISTINE CHEN. SHE’S A RESEARCH SCIENTIST AT THE PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY DEPARTMENT JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY. SHE STUDIES HOW PLANETARY SYSTEMS FORM AND EVOLVE.
[CC] AND THEN THE SECOND … THERE’S ALSO A GENERAL OBSERVER PROGRAM. AND THIS IS THE TYPICAL MODE THROUGH WHICH PEOPLE GET OBSERVATORY TIME OR THEY APPLY TO THE OBSERVATORY.
CHEN IS ALSO AN ASTRONOMER AT THE SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE. STSCI – AS ITS KNOWN FOR SHORT – IS THE ORGANIZATION THAT MANAGES THE SCIENCE OPERATIONS FOR BOTH HUBBLE AND JWST.
[CC] I’VE WORKED ON JWST FOR MANY YEARS. AND MY CURRENT ROLE IS IN SCIENCE POLICIES. SO I AM THE LEAD FOR THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE, SCIENCE POLICIES GROUP. … THE SCIENCE POLICY GROUP IS PART OF THE SCIENCE MISSION OFFICE AT SPACE TELESCOPE.
AMONGST HER CHIEF RESPONSIBILITIES: RUNNING THE TELESCOPE ALLOCATION PROCESS.
[CC] THIS IS THE PROCESS BY WHICH OBSERVING PROGRAMS ARE SELECTED BY THE COMMUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY.
LIKE MOST THINGS, WEBB HAS A LIMITED LIFE SPAN. NASA EXPECTS THAT TO BE ANYWHERE FROM FIVE TO TEN PLUS YEARS, SO IT’S IMPERATIVE THAT WE MAKE THE MOST OF THE TIME WE HAVE WITH IT. STSCI GATHERS THE PROPOSALS AND ENSURES THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING WEBB CAN BE DOING.
[CC] ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT JWST IS IT’S AN OPEN SKIES OBSERVATORY, WHICH MEANS THAT ANYONE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD IS WELCOME TO APPLY.
ASTRONOMERS – LIKE DR. KILPATRICK – LOOKING TO GET OBSERVATION TIME– LIKE DR. KILPATRICK– SUBMIT PROJECT PROPOSALS THROUGH THE JWST GENERAL OBSERVER PROGRAM.
[CC] THIS IS THE TYPICAL MODE THROUGH WHICH PEOPLE GET OBSERVATORY TIME OR THEY APPLY TO THE OBSERVATORY.
RESEARCH ABOARD WEBB IS ORGANIZED INTO YEARLY “CYCLES.” FOR REFERENCE, HUBBLE COMPLETED CYCLE TWENTY-NINE IN ITS TWENTY-NINTH YEAR OF OPERATION. IN JANUARY OF TWENTY-TWENTY, CHEN AND HER TEAM ANNOUNCED THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR JWST CYCLE 1.
[CC] YOU CAN IMAGINE, LIKE, THERE’S SO MUCH INTEREST THAT WE GET A LOT OF PROPOSALS. SO I FORGET THE EXACT NUMBER FOR CYCLE ONE, BUT IT’S ON THE ORDER OF 1200 PROPOSALS CAME IN.
THE PROPOSALS ADDRESSED ALL AREAS OF ASTROPHYSICS. EXAMINING NEARBY EXOPLANETS, NEUTRON STAR MERGERS, GALAXY EVOLUTION – ALL REALLY COOL STUFF, BUT STSCI RECEIVED TWELVE-HUNDRED TOTAL PROPOSALS. ALL OF THAT WOULD HAVE REQUIRED TWENTY-FOUR-AND-A-HALF THOUSAND HOURS OF PRIME OBSERVING TIME. WEBB ONLY HAD SIX-THOUSAND HOURS AVAILABLE, ABOUT A QUARTER OF THAT.
STSCI CREATED A COMMITTEE OF SCIENTISTS, EACH EXPERTS IN THEIR OWN SUB DISCIPLINE. TO SIFT THROUGH THESE PROPOSALS, STSCI USES A COMBINATION OF A TRIAGE SYSTEM AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS. EACH PROPOSAL GETS READ BY SIX DIFFERENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS. THEY BASE THEIR SCORES ON HOW WELL A PROPOSAL MEETS THREE SETS OF CRITERIA.
FIRST: THE SCIENTIFIC MERIT OF THE PROJECT.
[CC] THE CONTRIBUTION TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE. … YOU KNOW, HOW DOES IT IMPACT OUR KNOWLEDGE WITHIN A SPECIFIC SUBFIELD? … SO IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE SOME FIELD EXPERTS THAT SAY THAT
SECOND: THE PROJECT’S POSSIBLE IMPACT ON ASTRONOMY IN GENERAL.
[CC] SO IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR IS NOT JUST RELEVANCE TO THE PARTICULAR TOPICAL PANEL THAT THE PROPOSAL GOES TO, BUT OTHER TOPICAL PANELS AS WELL. SO LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU’RE IN EXOPLANETS PROPOSAL, YOU KNOW, IS THERE AN IMPLICATION FOR LIKE SOLAR SYSTEM WORK? RIGHT, THAT THAT’S A KIND OF CROSS PANEL THING.
THEN FINALLY: THE NEED FOR JWST TO ACCOMPLISH ITS SCIENTIFIC GOALS.
[CC] OF COURSE, TIME ON JWST IS EXTREMELY PRECIOUS. AND SO IF YOU CAN DO THAT SCIENCE WITH ANOTHER FACILITY, YOU KNOW, IT’S IT’S BETTER TO DO THAT, TO USE THAT INSTEAD. AND THOSE ARE THE SAME SELECTION CRITERIA, ACTUALLY, THAT ARE USED FOR HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE AS JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE.
DISCUSSIONS THEN TAKE PLACE OVER A THREE WEEK PROCESS ORGANIZED BY CHEN’S TEAM . IT’S THE LOGISTICAL/SCHEDULING EQUIVALENT OF THE MOON LANDING.
[CC] THEY’RE HIGHLY ORGANIZED. SO YOU CAN IMAGINE IT, THEY HAVE TO BE BECAUSE WE HAVE PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD PARTICIPATING, AND PARTICULARLY TO THE PANDEMIC, YOU KNOW, WE DO THIS ALL LIKE ON ZOOM ESSENTIALLY … THAT MEANS THAT PEOPLE ARE A WEEK, YOU KNOW, HAVE TO BE WEEAK, BOTH IN HAWAII AND IN EUROPE AT THE SAME TIMES.
THE COMMITTEES SPEND THREE WEEKS DELIBERATING. EACH DAY, THE PANEL SPEND SIX HOURS VETTING AND SELECTING THE PROPOSALS. AGAIN, THAT’S SIX HOURS EVERY DAY.
[CC] IT’S GRUELING, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY’RE VERY DETAILED CONVERSATIONS, WHERE PEOPLE REALLY TRY TO PROBE INTO, LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIKE, HOW IMPACTFUL IS THE SCIENCE? LIKE, YOU KNOW, IS IT, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT’S GOING TO CHANGE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF ASTRONOMY OR NOT? AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ON THE TECHNICAL SIDE, LIKE, DOES THIS MAKE SENSE? WILL IT WORK? SO THEY HAVE TO HAVE THESE REALLY DETAILED PROBING DISCUSSIONS.
THESE ZOOM CALLS – CONVERSATIONS HELD ACROSS CONTINENTS AND SCORES OF TIME ZONES – WILL DIRECTLY LEAD TO SOME OF JWST’S MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES. EVERY PROPOSAL UP TO THAT POINT HAS THE POSSIBILITY OF FOREVER CHANGING HOW WE SEE THE UNIVERSE AND SPACE-TIME ITSELF. CHOOSING THE RIGHT ONE IS A BIG RESPONSIBILITY.
AND THOUGH CHEN HERSELF DOESN’T DIRECTLY SELECT THE PROJECTS, HER TEAM IS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR REMOVING ANY BIAS FROM THAT SELECTION PROCESS – SOMETHING THAT’S A PROBLEM IN THE PAST.
YEAR AFTER YEAR, THE TIME ALLOCATION COMMITTEE FOR THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE REJECTED A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF PROPOSALS WITH WOMEN PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS. A FIVE-PERCENT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROPOSAL ACCEPTANCE RATES FOR MEN COMPARED TO WOMEN.
[CC] A IT WAS AN IMPORTANT THING TO ADDRESS, ESSENTIALLY, THAT THERE IS BIAS IN HOW THE PROPOSAL REVIEWS HAPPEN.
TO GUARANTEE PROPOSALS ARE SELECTED SOLELY ON SCIENTIFIC MERIT, STSCI IMPLEMENTED A DUAL ANONYMOUS PEER REVIEW SYSTEM. STSCI STRIPS THE NAMES OF THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS – OR PI’S – FROM THE PROPOSAL, MEANING THE COMMITTEE DOES NOT KNOW THE PROPOSER’S IDENTITY. FIRST IMPLEMENTED FOR HUBBLE CYCLE TWENTY-SIX, THE IMPLEMENTATION HAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWERED THE GAP IN SUCCESS RATES BETWEEN PROJECTS LED BY MEN AND WOMEN. ADDITIONALLY, IT’S LED TO HIGHER SUCCESS RATE FOR FACULTY AT SMALLER COLLEGES.
[CC] IT ALSO CHANGED THE DEMOGRAPHIC OF THE PI’S THEMSELVES. SO BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, TRACK RECORD WAS TAKEN TO ACCOUNT, … IT TENDED TO HAVE SENIOR PI’S SENIOR ASTRONOMERS AS THE PI’S FOR THE PROPOSALS, WHEREAS SINCE IT’S NO LONGER A CONSIDERATION, NOW, YOU KNOW, MORE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCS EARLY CAREER PEOPLE WOULD APPLY. AND WE’VE SEEN THAT THEIR SIX SUCCESS RATE HAS ALSO GONE UP AS WELL. SO IT’S REALLY CHANGED THE DEMOGRAPHIC.
[JOHN MATHER 1] WE AT NASA SENT OBSERVERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMITTEE’S WERE FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS … SO THEY WERE NOT TRYING TO USE INSIDE INFORMATION, LIKE I KNOW WHO WORKED THAT PROPOSAL, THAT SORT OF THING.
THAT’S DR. JOHN MATHER AGAIN.
AFTER THE FINAL PROJECT PROPOSALS ARE SELECTED, STSCI SENDS THE COMPLETE LIST OF APPROVED OBSERVATION TARGETS OVER TO THE JWST TEAM OVER AT NASA. IT’S NOW DR. UP TO MATHER AND HIS TEAM TO ASSEMBLE THE SCHEDULE FOR CYCLE 1.
[JM] OKAY, WELL, NOW THAT WE’VE GOT THE LONG LIST OF TARGETS THAT PEOPLE WANT TO LOOK AT, AND THEIR PREFERENCES ABOUT WHEN TO LOOK AT THEM, NOW WE HAVE TO GET A SCHEDULE. … SO SOMEBODY HAS TO BUILD THIS GIANT CALENDAR, ACCORDING TO THE LIST OF TARGETS, AS I SAID, IT’S A PRETTY LONG AND COMPLICATED PROCESS.
THIS SCHEDULE IS CRITICAL TO WEBB’S OPERATIONS. TO UNDERSTAND WHY, WE NEED TO TAKE A MOMENT AND KNOW WHAT WEBB LOOKS LIKE FULLY DEPLOYED.
IMAGINE A SAILBOAT SUSPENDED SIDEWAYS IN MIDAIR. THE BOTTOM OF THE SHIP THAT’S NOW VERTICAL IS WEBB’S SEVENTY-FEET LONG SUNSHIELD, WHILE THE PERPENDICULAR MAST AND SAIL FACING UP IS WEBB’S GIGANTIC MIRROR GATHERING LIGHT. AS THE TELESCOPE ORBITS THE SUN, NASA CONSTANTLY ROTATES WEBB SO THAT THE BOTTOM OF THE SHIP ALWAYS FACES THE SUN, EARTH, AND MOON – SOURCES EMITTING THEIR OWN LIGHT AND HEAT RAYS.
[JM] IT’S ACTUALLY VERY CLEVER. WE HAVE WHEELS THAT SPIN INSIDE THE OBSERVATORY. AND IF YOU WANT TO OBSERVE A TURN TO TURN TO THE RIGHT, YOU MAKE THE WHEEL INSIDE THE OBSERVATORY TURNED TO THE LEFT. AND SO THE WHEELS PUSH ON THE OBSERVATORY, AND THEN WHEN YOU GET WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO STOP DOING THAT.
WITH THOSE LIGHT BEAMS BLOCKED, THE SUNSHIELD PROVIDES SHADE FOR THE TELESCOPE SO THAT THE DELICATE INSTRUMENTS ON BOARD DON’T MELT. THERE’S ONLY ONE DRAWBACK – BRINGING A SEVENTY-FOOT BRICK WALL WITH YOU INTO SPACE MEANS YOU CAN’T SEE THROUGH IT. WEBB CAN ONLY EVER OBSERVE THE PARTS OF THE SKY THAT ARE VISIBLE FACING AWAY FROM THE CENTER OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. THAT’S ABOUT 40% OF THE FULL SKY ON ANY GIVEN DAY. THIS WOULD BE BAD IF WEBB STAYED FROZEN IN SPACETIME, BUT WEBB IS IN CONSTANT ORBIT AROUND THE SUN. DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE SKY ARE CONSTANTLY ENTERING WEBB’S FORTY PERCENT VISIBLE FRAME OF VIEW, GIVING WEBB ACCESS TO ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE SKY OVER A SIX MONTH PERIOD. IT’S SORTA LIKE A GIF THAT MOVES SUPER SLOW AND TAKES HALF-A-YEAR TO REPEAT.
[JM] SOME THINGS YOU JUST CAN’T SEE TODAY. THEY’RE IN THE WRONG PLACE IN THE SKY. … WE’RE EXPECTING SOMETHING LIKE 60% OF THE TIME, WE’LL ACTUALLY BE RECEIVING PHOTONS FROM THE SKY THAT MATTER TO SCIENCE.
UPON RECEIVING THE ACCEPTED GENERAL OBSERVER PROPOSALS FROM STSCI, MATHER AND NASA TAKE A BROAD LOOK AT WHAT THEY’RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH. THEY LOOK FOR OVERLAPS IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF TARGETS AND SEE IF THERE’S CLUMPING IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE SKY. THEY ALSO CONSIDER THE VARYING TIME CONSTRAINT WINDOWS, THE INSTRUMENTS TO BE USED IN THE OBSERVATION.
[CM] IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO GO, AS I SAY ZIPPING AROUND THE SKY FROM PLACE TO PLACE. THE TELESCOPE DOESN’T TURN THAT QUICKLY. AND WHEN IT DOES TURN, IT DOESN’T SETTLE DOWN THAT QUICKLY. SO WE WANT TO THAT’S SOMETHING TO MANAGE.
NASA PLUGS THE DATA INTO A COMPUTER. THEY ALSO INPUT THE PROJECT INFORMATION FOR VARIOUS OTHER JWST OBSERVATION APPROVED PROGRAMS. THIS INCLUDES THE EARLY RELEASE SCIENCE PROGRAMS FOR THE PUBLIC AND OTHER PROJECTS DESIGNED TO HELP CALIBRATE WEBB’S INSTRUMENTS. THE COMPUTER THEN CREATES VARIOUS STATISTICAL SCHEDULING MODELS FOR CYCLE ONE. MATHER’S TEAM SELECTS THE BEST ONE.
[JM] WE HAVE PLANNING TOOLS TO BASICALLY SET OUT THIS IS THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR TO DO THIS PARTICULAR TARGET. … THIS IS A GENERALIZATION OF WHAT THEY CALL THE TRAVELING SALESMAN PROBLEM IN MATHEMATICS. HOW DO YOU GO MOST EFFICIENTLY FROM PLACE TO PLACE? … EVEN A ONE MINUTE PICTURE IS VERY VALUABLE. SO WHEN WE CHOOSE ALL THE LIST OF TARGETS, WE WANT TO GO ZIPPING AROUND THIS GUY TO AS MUCH AS WE CAN. WHEN WE FIRST STARTED, WE THOUGHT, WELL, THE HARD PROJECTS ARE THE ONES WITH LONG, LONG TIME EXPOSURES, NOT GOING TO WASTE ANY TIME GOING FROM PLACE TO PLACE.
NASA UPDATES THE SCHEDULE WEEKLY. THEY RUN A VALIDATION PROGRAM AND CHECK WHETHER THINGS ARE RUNNING ACCORDING TO SCHEDULE. THEY MAY ADD OR REMOVE AN OBSERVATION TARGET ACCORDINGLY.
[JM] WE SEND UP A SORT OF DAILY LIST. AND WE ACTUALLY MADE A CHANGE FROM THE WAY THEY DO IT WITH THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE. WITH A HUBBLE THEY SAY AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME OF DAY YOU’RE GOING TO DO THIS AND AND THE WAY WE DO IT ON THE WEB IS AFTER YOU FINISH THIS ONE GO ON TO THE NEXT ONE. … HUBBLE ORBITS AROUND THE EARTH EVERY WHAT IS IT 90 MINUTES OR 95 MINUTES. SO I FORGET, IT’S REALLY QUICK. SO IT’S SORT OF THE CLOCK THAT CONTROLS EVERYTHING YOU DO. IN OUR LUGGAGE POINT ORBIT AROUND L TWO, THERE’S NOTHING TO MAKE YOU STOP. SO YOU CAN JUST KEEP ON GOING UNTIL YOU’VE GOT YOUR JOB DONE.
WHEN IT’S TIME TO OBSERVE, NASA USES THE TARGETING SYSTEM ON BOARD WEBB TO FIGURE OUT ITS ORIENTATION.
[JM] SO WE HAVE STAR CAMERAS. THERE’S THREE OF THEM. AND THEY LOOK AT DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE SKY. AND THEY RECOGNIZE THE STAR PATTERN OUT THERE. AND THEY SEND A COMPUTER SIGNAL TO THE COMPUTER THAT SAYS, I KNOW WHERE I’M LOOKING. AND, AND THEN YOU SAY, WELL, THAT’S NOT EXACTLY WHERE I WANTED TO LOOK. DO THIS. AND WE SEND THE COMMANDS TO THE WHEELS TO TURN.
FROM HERE ON IT’S REALLY NO DIFFERENT FROM AIMING A TELESCOPE IN YOUR BACKYARD. THERE’S A FEW MORE ROBOTIC PARTS, BUT HONESTLY – THE SAME OVERALL IDEA.
[JM] THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER THING CALLED A FINE GUIDED SENSOR, WHICH IS A LITTLE CAMERA RIGHT DOWN THERE WITH THE INSTRUMENTS AT THE END OF THE TELESCOPE, EFFECTIVELY THE END OF THE TELESCOPE, ALTHOUGH THERE ISN’T AN END. BUT WHERE YOU WOULD PUT YOUR EYE, WE PUT THE EQUIVALENT OF THE CROSSHAIRS AND A COMPUTER CAMERA, AND WE SAY, OKAY, TELL ME HOW FAR OFF THE RIGHT SPOT WE ARE. AND WE’LL USE THAT TO SEND A COMMAND TO THE REST OF THE OBSERVATORY TO MOVE UNTIL WE’RE RIGHT BACK AT THE RIGHT SPOT.
AFTER THE OBSERVATION GETS MADE, WEBB TRANSMITS THE DATA DOWN TO EARTH. AN ARRAY OF HUGE RADIO ANTENNAS RECEIVE THE INFO. THEY’RE A PART OF NASA’S DEEP SPACE NETWORK. THE NETWORK TRANSFERS THE DATA TO STSCI IN BALTIMORE WHO THEN UPLOADS IT ONLINE TO THEIR “MIKULSKI ARCHIVE FOR SPACE TELESCOPES” – MAST FOR SHORT. RESEARCHERS CAN THEN LOG ON, DOWNLOAD THE OBSERVATIONAL DATA, AND DISCOVER FOR THEMSELVES THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE.
BUT THAT’S FOR THE FUTURE, FOR AFTER WEBB GETS CALIBRATED AND READY FOR RESEARCH. CURRENTLY THE WEBB TEAM IS BUSY FOCUSING EACH OF WEBB’S EIGHTEEN MIRRORS. THEY’RE ABOUT ONE MONTH INTO THE THREE MONTH TOTAL PROCESS.
[JM] WE ALLOCATED SIX MONTHS TO GO THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF SETTING UP THE TELESCOPE … WE’RE ACTUALLY PLANNING TO BEGIN OBSERVATIONS AT THE END OF JUNE.
THOUGH STSCI RELEASED THE APPROVED PROJECT CATALOG FOR CYCLE ONE, NASA IS STILL WORKING ON FINALIZING THE OVERALL SCHEDULE. AS FOR WEBB, RIGHT NOW IT’S SITTING PRETTY.
[JM] EVERYTHING THAT WE’VE TESTED IS WORKING. ALL THE MOVEMENTS, THE DEPLOYMENTS, THEY ALL FUNCTION PROPERLY … I’M JUST REALLY PLEASED THAT IT HAS BEHAVED ITSELF AS WE HOPED IT WOULD.
SOME TIME AFTER CYCLE ONE COMMENCES, DR. CHEN AND STSCI WILL ANNOUNCE THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR JWST CYCLE TWO. AT THAT POINT THE ENTIRE PROCESS HAPPENS AGAIN – THE PROPOSAL WRITING, THE VETTING, AND SCHEDULING.
BUT FOR NOW, THE WORLD WAITS EAGERLY FOR WEBB AND THE INITIAL ROUND OF DISCOVERIES. WHAT WEBB WILL REVEAL IS A DISCUSSION BASED IN HOPE AND WHAT IF’S MORE THAN IN EDUCATED GUESSES. STILL, THERE’S NO DOUBTING IN WHAT WEBB HAS MEANT TO THOSE INVOLVED.
[CK] I FIRST CAME TO OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMY IN 2010. AND EVEN THEN I KIND OF KNEW I WANTED TO DO NUCLEUS SYNTHESIS. … SO THAT’S, I THINK, ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING PARTS ABOUT LIKE BEING INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT. … SO IT ALMOST SEEMS LIKE IN SOME SENSE, I’VE COME FULL CIRCLE BACK TO THAT LIKE UNDERSTANDING THE ORIGIN OF THE ELEMENTS.
[CC] ASTRONOMY IS REALLY ONE OF THOSE VERY OBSERVATIONALLY DRIVEN ENDEAVORS IN WHICH, LIKE, SOMETIMES YOU JUST DISCOVER THINGS THAT ARE TOTALLY UNANTICIPATED, AND IT CHANGES THE WAY THAT YOU LOOK AT THE UNIVERSE. AND I THINK THAT’S THE THING THAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST.
[JM] A LONG TIME AGO, WE COULDN’T SAY, WELL, I HAVE A STORY TO TELL YOU. AND HERE’S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. NOW, NOW WE CAN SAY I HAVE A STORY. I THINK THE UNIVERSE WORKS LIKE THIS. AND WE CAN MAKE YOU A MOVIE, WHICH IS BEAUTIFUL, THE SUPERCOMPUTER PEOPLE, THE SAME KINDS OF PEOPLE THAT CAN MAKE THE WEATHER MOVIES FOR YOU. THEY CAN SIMULATE THE EARLY UNIVERSE AND HOW IT GROWS INTO GALAXIES. AND IT IS A BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL MOVIE TO WATCH. SO WE’RE GOING TO LEARN THINGS THAT YOU NEVER COULD HAVE LEARNED FROM COMBINING COMPUTER TOOLS WITH WITH OBSERVATIONS. SO WHEN WE MAKE A MOVIE THAT MATCHES THE PICTURES WE GET WITH A WEB, MAYBE YOU CAN BE ABLE TO SAY, I THINK I BELIEVE NOW. OR YOU CAN SAY WE STILL HAVEN’T GOT IT.
FOR MEDILL, I’M NICK SONG.
