NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is a sophisticated new observatory that is being designed to unlock some of the greatest mysteries of the universe, but it could also play a key role in the hunt for alien planets, scientists said.
The $8.8 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is slated to launch in 2018, will orbit 930,000 miles (1,500,000 kilometers) from Earth, in a region called the Lagrange Point 2. Here, the gravitational forces from the Earth and the sun essentially cancel each other out, so JWST will be able to maintain a stable orbit without using up too much energy.
From this distant orbital perch, JWST will be able to stare uninterrupted at stars with sensitive infrared instruments. The telescope's powerful tools could let astronomers "sniff" the atmospheres of alien planets and break down their molecular composition.
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