The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in French Guiana
Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features Kourou, French Guiana, where the James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to launch in mid-December from the Guiana Space Centre.
French Guiana was chosen as the site of Europe’s Spaceport for its low risk of cyclones and earthquakes.
According to NASA, the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will be the culmination of more than two decades of work by a team of 10,000 people, spanning 14 countries and 29 U.S. states.
The telescope – a collaboration between NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency – is the world’s largest and most powerful space telescope. It will give scientists the opportunity to look back 13.5 billion years to the first light in the universe to reveal how the first stars and galaxies formed and evolved over millions of years.
Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer
