Hubble Space Telescope Upgraded

Hubble Space Telescope

Our beloved Hubble Space Telescope (HST) launched 19 years ago has now been upgraded by NASA space shuttle mission STS125. The Servicing Mission 4 is Hubble’s last repair mission, so the crew members of STS125 riding on space shuttle Atlantis are the astronauts who touched HST one last time. After the refurbishment of  HST, it is expected to work fine until 2014 and by then, it will be replaced by James Webb Space Telescope (only on infrared).

Hubble Space Telescope is now equipped with 2 new instruments, Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Its Advanced Camera for Survey down in 2007 and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph failed in 2004 are now back to online. HST is also reloaded with new batteries, six new gyroscopes, a refurbished fine guidance sensor, a new outer blanket layer and a soft capture and rendezvous system.

The WFC3 has higher resolution and wider field of view than Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). It will be used to study dark energy and dark matter, formation of individual star and discover extremely remote galaxy which helps us know more about the early universe. The COS is key to understand galaxy evolution, the formation of planets, the rise of the elements needed for life, and the “cosmic web” of gas between galaxies as spectrograph can reveal the elements by breaking lights into spectrum.

Direct evidence of dark matter. Imaged by HST.

Hubble Space Telescope has long been delivering Earthlings amazing astronomical discoveries and stunning pictures. Now, its ability has been enhanced to a further step that it can do 10x better than before. The secrets of the dark matter and more exoplanets may soon be revealed. We shall anticipate more jaw-dropping discoveries by HST.

I am sure that the info above is not able to satisfied your hungers, read NASA SM4 Essentials. Don’t miss it!

By the way, I am curious about the privacy that the only female astronaut, K. Megan McArthur has. What do you think?