In 2021, as we approached launch, JWST was poised to revolutionize humanity’s understanding of the cosmos. Designed to answer fundamental questions related to formation and evolution of the Universe, stellar systems, exoplanets and planets, JWST was 100 times more powerful than Hubble. The expectations for outstanding performance were high.
Approximately two years before launch, an interagency (NASA/ESA/CSA) committee had been created to design a list of recommended astronomical targets for the very first JWST images. These were to be taken immediately after the commissioning phase, and to be released to the world to announce that JWST was fully operational, and its performance, as expected, was superb.
Looking back at the success of the first images and the choice of the targets that were eventually used, some lessons can be learned that hopefully can be used for future missions. First, it was necessary to agree on a clear definition of the criteria these targets/first observations had to satisfy:
- Showcase JWST uniqueness, while avoiding a direct comparison with the Hubble Space Telescope, at least at the beginning;
- Showcase the power of the entire observatory, highlight the capabilities of all instruments, celebrate the international nature of the partnership;
- “wow” the public with the beauty and the colors of the Universe, as seen by JWST.
Because of the uncertainty on the launch date, targets had to be prepared for any time of the year, so that the appropriate subset could be ready when the final launch date was announced.
The second lesson learned was that preparedness was key to success. These observations were to be the apex of the “crescendo” that had started with the spectacular launch, followed by the deployment and commissioning phase, which lasted approximately six months. One recurrent question at the time was: how to maintain public interest when there is nothing to see for six months? This is where the space agencies’ powerful communication machines went into action, led by NASA colleagues, to continue telling the story of this beautiful scientific observatory coming to life: the journey to its final destination, the deployment of all its precious subsystems, the telescope being aligned, the instruments being awaken. And while it had been decided not to show any colorful images along the way, communications effectively conveyed (via a very effective NASA blog) that the telescope was performing well, and the first engineering data was already showing that the observatory’s performance was exceeding the already ambitious expectations. Because of this well-crafted and coordinated communication strategy, we could see that, along the way, a very faithful crowd had accrued that was already following JWST at every step. Their patience was rewarded when the first stunning images were released to the world in a coordinated set of simultaneous worldwide events which were seen by millions of people.
The rest is history, and as we marvel at each single spectacular image or superb spectrum produced by the JWST observatory, we are holding our breaths waiting for that revolutionary discovery that will change the way we see the Universe. That “big science” will make the investment of resources, funding, and thousands of people’s careers absolutely worthwhile.