CIRS instrument description
Image depicting the Cassini spacecraft with zoom on CIRS instrument

Cassini/CIRS instrument

The Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) consists of two spectrometers (Far-Infrared and Mid-Infrared) which share a 50 cm, F/6 Telescope and Mirror Transport Mechanism.  The spectral resolution is 0.5 to 20 cm-1 with range of 10 to 1400 cm-1 (1000-7 microns).  

The Far-IR Spectrometer is a Polarizing Interferometer with a single focal plane, known as Focal Plane 1 (FP1).  This focal plane has a spectral range of 10-600 cm-1 and consists of two thermophile detectors with field-of-view at 4.3 mrad in diameter.

The Mid-IR Spectrometer consists of two 1 x 10 HgCdTe detector arrays.  The Focal Plane 3 (FP3) array has a spectral range of 600-1100 cm-1 .  The Focal Plane 4 (FP4) array has a spectral range of 1100-1400 cm-1.  The field-of-view per pixel for each is 0.273 mrad square.

  • Privacy Policy & Important Notices
  • NASA Official: Dr. F. Michael Flasar, NASA/GSFC
  • Email: f.m.flasar@nasa.gov
  • Curator: Ever Guandique, ADNET Systems, Inc.
  • Email: ever.guandique@nasa.gov