Nasa's next-generation telescope poised to begin its million-kilometre journey

James Webb Space Telescope will peer 13.5 billion years back in time

Nasa's James Webb Space Telescope will give astronomers a peek into the early universe. All photos: Nasa

An artist's impression of the telescope in space. It will detect stars and galaxies 13.5 billion light years away, capturing light sources and studying formation of galaxies

It is hoped the telescope will show us what the universe was like 100 to 250 million years after its birth

The James Webb Space Telescope has 18 primary mirrors that are built together in the shape of a honeycomb

It is the world's most powerful telescope. Its mirrors are 100 times more powerful than its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope

The $10 billion telescope is the size of school bus. It had to fold up to fit inside the launch rocket

A European rocket, Ariane 5, launched the $10 billion ‘time travel machine’ from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana

On Saturday, the largest and most advanced telescope to enter space will take off from South America to look deeper into the universe than ever before.

The James Webb Space Telescope, a $10 billion instrument developed by Nasa, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, will eventually settle into an orbit over 1.6 million kilometres away — about four times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

Nasa said the telescope will provide “an unprecedented window into our universe’s deep past”.

It is being billed as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, which orbits the Earth about 550 kilometres away.

Named after Nasa's chief during most of the 1960s, the Webb telescope is described by the US space agency as “the most complex space science observatory ever built”.

“Webb will peer more than 13.5 billion years back into cosmic history to a time when the first luminous objects were evolving,” Nasa said.

“It’s the first observatory capable of exploring the very earliest galaxies, and could transform our understanding of the universe.

“Webb will also study the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars, and observe moons, planets, comets and other objects within our own solar system.

“This data will reveal the molecules and elements that exist on distant planets and could unlock clues to the origins of our planet and life as we know it.”

Webb is about 100 times more sensitive than Hubble and is expected to revolutionise astronomers' understanding of the universe and our place in it.

Its instruments also make it ideal to look for potentially life-supporting atmospheres around numerous newly documented exoplanets — celestial bodies orbiting distant stars — and to observe worlds nearer to home, such as Mars and Saturn's icy moon Titan.

From launching the first Arab mission to the Moon to looking into the early universe using the world’s most powerful telescope – the new year is going to be a busy one for space exploration. The National looks at some of the most exciting missions scheduled for 2022. Photo: Nasa

Engineers at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre have been planning a Moon mission since 2017. They have built a 10-kilogram rover called Rashid that will study lunar soil and its properties. It is scheduled for a launch sometime between August to December 2022. Photo: Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre

The final prototype of the UAE's Rashid Moon rover. Photo: Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre

Two Emirati candidate astronauts are to begin training at Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, in January. Mohammed Al Mulla, a Dubai Police helicopter pilot, and Nora Al Matrooshi, a mechanical engineer, will spend two years in training. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla will learn the systems of the International Space Station, the Russian language, robotics and how to perform spacewalks. Once they graduate, both astronauts would become eligible for space missions. AP

Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla are the generation of astronauts that could go to the Moon one day. The UAE has its sights set on human missions to the lunar surface. Chris Whiteoak / The National

US space agency Nasa is preparing the space launch system and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 launch on March 12, which will involve a three-week, uncrewed test flight to the Moon. AFP / Nasa

During the mission, the Orion spacecraft will fly 100 kilometres above the Moon’s surface and then use its gravitation force to become captured in an opposite orbit about 70,000 kilometres from the Moon. EPA / Nasa

Completion of China’s space station is scheduled for the end of 2022. The Tiangong’s core module Tianhe is already in orbit and has been hosting astronauts, including Wang Yaping, its first female astronaut. Xinhua / AP

Wang Yaping was sent to the station earlier this year. On November 8, the 41-year-old also became the first Chinese female astronaut to perform a spacewalk. Xinhua / AP

South Korea plans to launch its first lunar mission in 2022. The Korea Pathfinder orbiter will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Photo: Korea Aerospace Research Agency

The James Webb Space Telescope will be capable of 'looking back' 13.5 billion years to see the first stars and galaxies of the universe and search for signs of life. It was launched on Saturday, December 25, 2021, and it is expected to make several discoveries when it becomes operational in 2022. Reuters

The telescope will mainly view the cosmos on the infrared spectrum, allowing it to gaze through clouds of gas and dust where stars are being born, while Hubble has typically operated on optical and ultraviolet wavelengths.

The Webb had been due to lift off from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on December 24, but local weather pushed that date back to at least Christmas Day.

It follows a two-day postponement from an earlier December 22 targeted launch window that was delayed by electronic communications difficulties between the launch vehicle and its payload, Nasa said.

But if all goes to plan, the telescope will be released from its rocket after a 26-minute ride into space before a month-long journey to its destination.