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There is a list of specific questions JWST was built to answer. * What were the first stars and galaxies like? * How do stars come to form deep within a dusty
by simonh 5y ago
There is a list of specific questions JWST was built to answer.
* What were the first stars and galaxies like?
* How do stars come to form deep within a dusty nebula?
* What are the atmospheres of Earth-sized worlds like, and do they contain signatures of life?
* How far away do we need to look to see the pristine, pre-stellar Universe?
* How did the early stars and galaxies assemble to give rise to what we have today?
Once these questions have been answered, answering them again with exact copies of the same instruments at the same fidelity does offer diminishing returns. Sure it will provide valuable data for its whole lifespan, but there are diminishing returns. Better to invest the marginal cost of another JWST in a different instrument that gives us measurements the JWST can’t. There will be successors to the JWST, and that’s where the investment should go.
- BurningFrog 5y agoI know NASA has a reputation for bureaucracy, but I don't think it will be forbidden to use JWST for other purposes than those 5 questions? It is capable of being aimed at any point of the sky and show us things we've never seen before, is it not?
- WalterBright 5y agoReminds me of when Seattle finished boring a transit line with their zillion dollar tunnel boring machine, they cut it up and sold it for scrap. Never mind that the machine could have just kept right on boring, extending the line.
- simonh 5y agoThat is true, but it was designed specifically to perform certain tasks. It’s capable of much more, but those are essentially bonus stretch goals. Nobody is saying a second JWST would have no value, or couldn’t do useful science, that’s a gross mischaracterisation. There are diminishing returns, that’s all. We all want more science, the question is what’s the best use of 3-4 Bn in extra funds. The real question is which other future telescopes and space missions would you cancel to get a second JWST?