NASA Webb probes atmosphere scenarios for TRAPPIST-1 eby Staff Writers for Webb NewsWashington DC (SPX) Sep 17, 2025Scientists using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are focusing on TRAPPIST-1 e, one of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a nearby red dwarf star. Early results suggest the planet likely lost its original hydrogen-helium atmosphere, but possibilities remain for a secondary atmosphere that could sustain liquid water under the right conditions. "We're seeing the first signs of what Webb can do with Earth-sized exoplanets," said Nestor Espinoza of the Space Telescope Science Institute, principal investigator for the study. Because TRAPPIST-1 planets are tidally locked, water - if present - might pool as an ocean or persist in smaller regions where the star remains overhead. "We're just beginning to see the extraordinary science Webb can achieve," said Ana Glidden of MIT's Kavli Institute, who led the team's atmospheric analysis.