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The science instruments are the heart of the James
Webb Space Telescope. The four science instruments will be contained
within the Integrated
Science Instrument Module or ISIM. This unit will house the four
main instruments that will detect light from distant stars and galaxies,
and planets orbiting other stars. The structure (pictured left) is
like a chassis in a car providing support for the engine and other
components.
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The ISIM includes the
following instruments:
- Near-Infrared Camera, or NIRCam - provided by the University of Arizona
- Near-Infrared Spectrograph, or NIRSpec - provided by ESA, with components provided by NASA/GSFC.
- Mid-Infrared Instrument, or MIRI - provided by the European Consortium with the European Space Agency (ESA), and by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
- Fine Guidance Sensor/ Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph , or FGS/NIRISS - provided by the Canadian Space Agency.
Many different smaller parts go into the whole ISIM
structure. These include the ISIM Structure Subsystem; ISIM Thermal
Control Subsystem; ISIM Control and Data Handling Subsystem; ISIM Flight
Software; and ISIM Harness Assemblies.
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View our image gallery for pictures of the ISIM and instruments. |
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As of March 2010 the ISIM is being tested in the NASA Goddard cleanroom. Watch on our "Webb-cam"! |
