Will MIRI fly?

You may have seen recent reports about the future of the James Webb Space Telescope.

US politicians are debating funding for the project, which has been touted as the successor to Hubble.

One of the videos I created for Backstage Science was about an instrument built for the telescope.

The instrument's called MIRI and has been put together at the RAL Space facility, just outside Oxford.

It's one of four "cameras" which would be bolted to the telescope, utilising light caught by the giant mirror.

In the video Paul Eccleston speaks of his passion for the project and excitement about eventually seeing MIRI launched into space.

Whatever you think about the politics and cost, it would certainly be sad if MIRI never does the job it was made for.