On July 5th, Hypatia I participated in the Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Barcelona International Youth Science Challenge (BIYSC), a two-week international science program organized by the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation aimed at young people with a passion for science and technology,
Ariadna Farrés-Basiana, PhD in Mathematics, Research Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and Crew Scientist and Health & Safety Officer of Hypatia I, flew from the United States to Barcelona to share her knowledge with the BIYSC participants in La Pedrera-Casa Milà, the headquarters of Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation.
Dr. Farrés-Basiana talked about her contributions to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) deployment over the past few months since it launched on December 25th, 2021. The JWST is the world’s premier space science observatory, an international endeavour led by NASA and its international partners, ESA and CSA.
Within the JWST mission, Dr. Farrés-Basiana worked with the Flight Dynamics team at NASA Goddard, studying the impact that solar radiation pressure had on the telescope’s trajectory and the size of the maneuvers to keep JWST in orbit around L2.
On July 11th 2022, the first JWST color image was released to the public. Known as “Webb’s First Deep Field,” this image represents the deepest and sharpest infrared picture of the distant universe to date. As Webb continues to survey the sky, astronomers will be able to learn more about the galaxies’ masses, ages, histories, and compositions, among others.
During her lecture, Dr. Farrés-Basiana not only explained the importance of missions such as that of JWST for furthering our knowledge of the universe, but also highlighted the relevance of missions that will take place in the near-future, such as crewed trips to Mars. In this context, Martian analog missions such as Hypatia I aspire to develop tools, technologies, and protocols for future missions to the Red Planet.
Image Credit: Pau Fabregat