> JWST does the same job much, much better.
Close: JWST is near-infrared. SOFIA was the last and remaining far-infrared telescope. There's debate though if far-infrared was worth it though.
Close: JWST is near-infrared. SOFIA was the last and remaining far-infrared telescope. There's debate though if far-infrared was worth it though.
JWST covers the mid-infrared too, as you implied. But @exabrial's point still stands, that SOFIA's coverage included much longer wavelengths than JWST does. SOFIA had instruments that could observe wavelengths as long as 1600 microns[0].
I don't think there's debate about whether the far-infrared is valuable. The far-infrared has unique diagnostic power for some astrophysical phenomena, and the 2020 Decadal Survey for Astronomy specifically called for the far-infrared to be considered for a $1B "probe-class" mission. What was debated was the specific role and cost of SOFIA.