May 3, 2024

A Stellar Achievement: NASA’s Webb Telescope Honored With Michael Collins Trophy

The prize was granted to the group behind NASAs James Webb Space Telescope in a ceremony at the museums Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, on March 23, 2023. Credit: Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum.
“The James Webb Space Telescope is permitting us to study a time when the very first stars and galaxies formed in the universe. This amazing achievement has actually been made possible over lots of years by the dedication of the thousands of people on the team, who have pushed the limits of innovation to provide this incredible space telescope,” stated Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. Clampin delivered remarks after accepting the 2023 Collins Trophy on March 23, on behalf of the Webb group.

” The 2023 Collins Trophy recipients have actually assisted human beings understand their put on this Earth,” said Chris Browne, the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the museum. “The James Webb Telescope has likewise offered us brand-new point of views on deep space.”
James Webb Space telescope. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
Launched on December 25, 2021, Webb is the largest and most powerful area science telescope ever constructed. In July 2022, the Webb group formally started Webbs objective to check out the infrared universe.
” Congratulations to the James Webb Space Telescope team for pressing the limits to expose our history through the earliest, most far-off galaxies that shine in the cosmos,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “The amazing images and spectra are already providing on Webbs pledge to unlock a brand-new age of science.”
With its optics performing almost twice in addition to the objective required, Webb is finding a few of the earliest galaxies ever observed, peering through dirty clouds to see stars forming, and providing a more detailed view of the atmospheres of worlds outside our planetary system than ever in the past. Webb has also recorded new views of worlds within our planetary system, including the clearest appearance at Neptunes rings in decades. The Collins Trophy award acknowledges the amazing achievements and considerable contributions of the staff member who created, established, and now run the Webb objective.
The luminous, hot star Wolf-Rayet 124 (WR 124) is popular at the center of the James Webb Space Telescopes composite image combining near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths of light from Webbs Near-Infrared Camera and Mid-Infrared Instrument. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team
“The James Webb Space Telescope is enabling us to study a time when the very first stars and galaxies formed in the universe. This remarkable accomplishment has actually been made possible over several years by the commitment of the countless people on the team, who have actually pushed the boundaries of innovation to provide this magnificent area telescope,” stated Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. Clampin provided remarks after accepting the 2023 Collins Trophy on March 23, on behalf of the Webb team.
Winners get a prize including a miniature version of the “Web of Space” sculpture, which was developed by John Safer from Washington, D.C. The award was established in 1985 and was renamed in honor of Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins in 2020.
Webb, a global objective led by NASA with its partners ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency), is the worlds premier space science observatory. Its design pressed the limits of space telescope abilities to solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to far-off worlds around other stars, and probe the mystical structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.
Just recently, the Webb missions achievements likewise have actually been acknowledged by organizations consisting of the Space Foundation, Science, National Space Club and Foundation, Aviation Week, Bloomberg Businessweek, Popular Science, and TIME.

Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters, accepts the 2023 Michael Collins Trophy for Lifetime and Current Achievements from Christopher Browne, John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum The trophy was awarded to the group behind NASAs James Webb Space Telescope in an event at the museums Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, on March 23, 2023. Credit: Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum.
NASAs James Webb Space Telescope group was selected to get the 2023 Michael Collins Trophy for Lifetime and Current Achievements. This annual award from the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum honors exceptional accomplishments in the fields of aerospace science and innovation, and their history.
” The James Webb Space Telescope teams dedication and ingenuity is a motivation to the world,” stated NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana. “The partnerships that make this mission possible represent the very best of humankind and are critical to enabling us to use Webb to comprehend our universe much better.”
The award existed during a ceremony at the museums Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, on March 23.