When we talk about the most significant events of the last year, the one that might have the biggest impact on humanity actually took place far above the Earth’s atmosphere. Up there, in orbit around earth, is one of the most powerful tools humans have ever had to hunt for the origins of our universe – and for alien life. The James Webb Space Telescope has the ability to look so far and with such clarity that we can get an insight into a period of time that our best scientists have only ever speculated about: the cosmic dark ages. Today, Director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute at Swinburne University, Dr Alan Duffy on why the last year marked a new beginning for our understanding of the universe.