NASA is building the Webb telescope at the Goddard Space Center, outside Washington DC.

美国宇航局正在华盛顿特区外的戈达德航天中心建造这台韦伯望远镜。

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The James Webb Space Telescope, named after NASA's second director, will have a mirror seven times the size of the Hubble Space Telescope.

VOA: special.2011.05.23

The James Webb Space Telescope is a complex engineering project.

VOA: special.2011.05.23

But for now, and the next couple of decades, spending the billions required to explore Mars, search for life on Europa and develop cutting age science hardware like the Webb Telescope is exactly where our government (and others) must be focusing.

FORBES: Curiosity's Successful, Glorious Triumph on Mars

The next stage is a new infrared space telescope -- the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) -- to replace Hubble, currently due to be launched in 2013.

CNN: Telescope set to reveal 'Big Bang'

There is doubt also over the future of the James Webb Space Telescope in which Europe has a 15% share.

BBC: Smart UK navigation system for Mars rover