Artist's impression of JWST

Due for launch in 2013, JWST is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope and it wil work at infrared wavelenghts.

JWST will help to solve outstanding questions about our place in the evolving Universe. When and how did the first galaxies form after the Big Bang? How did they evolve to become what we see today? How do planetary systems form and evolve? Are there planets that can host life?