The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope which conducts infrared astronomy
As the biggest optical telescope in space, its high goal and responsiveness permit it to see protests excessively old, far off, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope
This will enable investigations across many fields of astronomy and cosmology, such as observation of the first stars, the formation of the first galaxies, and detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets
The U.S. NASA led JWST's design and development and partnered with two main agencies: the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs
The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on 25 December 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, and arrived at the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point in January 2022
The first JWST image was released to the public via a press conference on 11 July 2022