JWST is a flagship mission, one that can be done only once in a generation. The former NASA Associate Director for Science, Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, referred to flagship missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as “civilization-scale science”, i.e. science that not only changes what we know, but also how we think about our place in the cosmos. It is then not a surprise that there are multiple dimensions to the societal impact of JWST. First of all, building something on the scale and complexity of JWST requires an extraordinary effort. In his contribution, Matt Mountain reviews the type of support that was needed to build JWST. JWST is extremely visible and its great success and visibility enables societal impacts in technology and inspiration as discussed by Gillian Wright in her contribution. Finally, JWST and astronomy in general can be inspiring and have a broad impact on education and using astronomy as a tool for development, especially in the global south. This is discussed by Kevin Govender in his contribution.
Matt Mountain’s contribution leaves open the key question “what kind of society builds something like JWST?” I think it is a society that still values truth and beauty. The world around us is increasingly divided. However, the science results of JWST seem to unify people and give a positive example of international collaboration and show what we can do if we set our minds to cooperation and positive goals. Clearly, this is a powerful starting point to attempt to improve education and society.