Instruments

The science instruments are the heart of the James Webb Space Telescope. The four science instruments are contained within the Integrated Science Instrument Module or ISIM. JWST's instruments will detect light from distant stars and galaxies, and planets orbiting other stars.

The ISIM structure (pictured below) is like a chassis in a car providing support for the engine and other components.

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.

JWST Team Photo with completed Flight Instrument module:

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.

More Resources:

• View our image gallery for pictures of the ISIM and instruments.
• Technical specs on the instruments (STScI website)
• Our page about the detectors in our instruments
• Watch our NASA Goddard cleanroom Webb-cam live!