The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope

We provide an overview of the design and capabilities of the near-infrared spectrograph (NIRSpec) onboard the James Webb Space Telescope. NIRSpec is designed to be capable of carrying out low-resolution ( R = 30−330) prism spectroscopy over the wavelength range 0.6–5.3 μm and higher resolution ( R = 500−1340 or R = 1320−3600) grating spectroscopy over 0.7–5.2 μm, both in single-object mode employing any one of five fixed slits, or a 3.1 × 3.2 arcsec 2 integral field unit, or in multiobject mode employing a novel programmable micro-shutter device covering a 3.6 × 3.4 arcmin 2 field of view. The all-reflective optical chain of NIRSpec and the performance of its different components are described, and some of the…

• NA
  National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• SA
  Science and Technology Facilities Council

  Award: ST/V000918/1