As NASA prepares to release the first science images from the James Webb Space Telescope on July 12, engineers are paying close attention to the small but potentially serious threat that micrometeorites pose to the telescope.

As NASA prepares to release the first science images from the James Webb Space Telescope on July 12, engineers are paying close attention to the small but potentially serious threat micrometeorites pose to the telescope. Although engineers expected the telescope to be bombarded by tiny space dust particles during its planned 20-year life, a relatively large micrometeorite struck one of the telescope's mirrors in May, forcing engineers to take a closer look at the threat posed by space rocks .

The James Webb Telescope's primary mirror

5's micrometeorite impact left a slight distortion in one of the 18 hexagonal sections that make up the telescope's primary mirror. Because the position of the mirror segments can be adjusted very precisely, engineers were able to fine-tune damaged sections so that the resulting images were free of degradation.

Large micrometeorites are much less common than smaller particles, so it is likely that the telescope was simply unlucky enough to encounter a large meteorite relatively early in its life.

Like the International Space Station module, the James Webb Telescope's mirrors can accumulate small damage over time.

Now researchers are predicting the meteor showers the space telescope will have to experience. The greatest danger in the next few years may occur in May 2023 and 2024, when the James Webb Telescope must fly by Halley's Comet fragments.