Authors

M. Clampin

Affiliations

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Abstract

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large aperture (6.5 meter), cryogenic space telescope with a suite of near and mid-infrared instruments covering the wavelength range of 0.6 µm to 28 µm. JWST’s primary science goal is to detect and characterize the first galaxies. It will also study the assembly of galaxies, star formation, and the formation of evolution of planetary systems. We will discuss recent technical progress in the development of JWST and review its science instrument complement and the observatories predicted performance. We also discuss the expected scientific performance of the observatory for observations of exosolar planets by means of transit photometry and spectroscopy, and direct coronagraphic imaging and address its role in the search for habitable planets.