Space Science Reviews - The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Read the original open-access review of JWST's goals & science objectives from 2006

12 July 2022

This often-read and now highly-cited article in Space Science Reviews, published in 2006, described the scientific capabilities and planned implementation of James Webb Space Telescope (this opens in a new tab) (JWST).  Today, as the first images taken by JWST have been publicly released, we are looking back at the origins of this project, its technical implementation, and science goals as envisioned more than a decade before the actual launch. 

Gardner, J.P., Mather, J.C., Clampin, M. et al. The James Webb Space Telescope. Space Sci Rev 123, 485–606 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-006-8315-7 (this opens in a new tab)

From the abstract: 

"The JWST science goals are divided into four themes. The key objective of The End of the Dark Ages: First Light and Reionization theme is to identify the first luminous sources to form and to determine the ionization history of the early universe. The key objective of The Assembly of Galaxies theme is to determine how galaxies and the dark matter, gas, stars, metals, morphological structures, and active nuclei within them evolved from the epoch of reionization to the present day. The key objective of The Birth of Stars and Protoplanetary Systems theme is to unravel the birth and early evolution of stars, from infall on to dust-enshrouded protostars to the genesis of planetary systems. The key objective of the Planetary Systems and the Origins of Life theme is to determine the physical and chemical properties of planetary systems including our own, and investigate the potential for the origins of life in those systems. Within these themes and objectives, we have derived representative astronomical observations."

_{NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has delivered the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe so far. Webb’s First Deep Field is galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, and it is teeming with thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared. / Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI}