Mission Review

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is an infrared space telescope developed by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

The UK Space Agency commissioned RAND Europe and Ipsos to produce a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework for future evaluations of the National Space Science Programme (NSSP) and the Science and Exploration Bilateral Programme (SEBP). As part of this, RAND Europe has conducted two mission reviews, into the James Webb Space Telescope and Solar Orbiter, to test this framework, but they do not constitute full evaluations.

Through the NSSP, the UK contributed £25m to the development and operation of JWST. UK scientists led and managed a consortium of ten European countries which developed the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), one of four instruments hosted on JWST and the only one focused on mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelengths.

Stakeholders involved in MIRI’s development reported that the UK’s heritage in astronomy and mid-IR instrument development was key in convincing NASA and ESA of the scientific value of a mid-IR instrument, in conjunction with early financial support from UK funding agencies. Thus, MIRI represents a key example of the UK identifying a strategic priority and leveraging financial resources and the enthusiasm and expertise of its scientific community to achieve a key role in a large-scale space science mission.