Story highlights Hubble has helped make major discoveries but there are limits to how far it can see into space

The James Webb Space Telescope will work in the infra-red and be able to see objects that formed 13 billion years ago

Scientists also believe the new telescope will be able to detect planets around nearby stars

London (CNN) If you're hunting for the earliest galaxies and clues about potential life on other planets you are going to need a very big mirror and a golf ball of gold.

They are both necessary for the construction of The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), intended as the successor to the Hubble instrument that has been operating in space for 25 years.

It's going to be a tough act to follow. Hubble has returned spectacular images during the past quarter century but also helped scientists discover that almost every galaxy has a massive black hole at its heart and that the expansion of the universe is speeding up.

But there are limits to how far it can see. Now scientists are working on an alternative way to peer into the past and search space for signs of life with JWST -- scheduled to launch in October 2018 on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana.

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NASA spokesperson Lynn Chandler told CNN that the mission was like opening up the curtains on the universe and peering inside.

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