Robert Smith is a professor at the University of Alberta and historian to JWST since 2002
As James Webb Space Telescope beams back images from the edge of space and time, space historian Robert Smith recalls some of the decisions made to bring the $10bn NASA project to fruition. David Stuart reports
Laser communications often take the lion’s share of attention when it comes to the use of photonics in space, but lasers will also play a vital role locating resources on the Moon and other objects in the solar system, according to NASA’s Berhanu Bulcha.
‘The next big thing in my area is developing an integrated photonics device-based THz spectrometer. NASA has a great interest in developing sensitive and small SWaP (size, weight and power) instruments for space missions,’ he said.
Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI
Some of the faintest celestial objects ever observed in the infrared have been imaged
Matthew Dale speaks with ESA to learn about the opportunities arising for photonics in the space sector
An artist's conception of JWST in space. Credit: NASA
The JWST is an example of the culmination of years of work in technology development and research into advancing photonics technologies
NASA optical physicists are exploring the use of femtosecond lasers to join dissimilar materials in the manufacturing of spaceflight instruments.
Imaging spectroscopy offers a powerful way to understand this world and others, and optical innovations are enhancing its capabilities, finds Andy Extance
The laser ranging interferometer (LRI) instrument has been successfully switched on aboard the recently launched twin US/German Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) satellites
Nasa has recently tested an airborne lidar system that uses three simultaneous laser pulses to detect and measure two potent greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide and water vapour
Organoid imaged with Andor’s desktop confocal microscope system, the BC43. Credit: Andor
As microscopes become ever more powerful, a growing band of businesses are racing to make the latest technologies more accessible and more affordable, reports Rebecca Pool
Illustration of a three-dimensional crystal with various types of confining centres. (a) Crystal with four confining centres, each trapping waves (yellow) in all three dimensions simultaneously. (b) Crystal with a linear confining centre where waves can propagate in one dimension, analogous to an optical fibre. (c) Crystal with a planar confining centre where waves can propagate in two dimensions, analogous to a 2D electron gas. (Image: Vos et al.)
Newly discovered fundamental rules have been embedded into software to dramatically optimise the design of photonic integrated circuits
