Planetary Systems Laboratory

Missions & Projects

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Instrument

Heterodyne Instrument for Planetary Wind And Composition (HIPWAC)

Goddard's Heterodyne Instrument for Planetary Wind And Composition (HIPWAC) is used at ground-based facilities, often at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan Subaru Telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. With HIPWAC, scientists probe planetary atmospheres for chemical and dynamical information at exceptionally high spectral resolution. HIPWAC has made valuable observations of a variety of solar system bodies, including Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Titan, Neptune, and Venus.

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    illustration of telescope look up at planets
    Flight Project

    Juno

    The Juno spacecraft successfully entered the orbit of Jupiter on July 4, 2016. Its suite of instruments allow it, for the first time, to peer below the dense cover of clouds to answer questions about the gas giant and the origins of our solar system. Juno's primary goal is to reveal the story of Jupiter's formation and evolution. Using long-proven technologies on a spinning spacecraft placed in an elliptical polar orbit, Juno observes Jupiter's gravity and magnetic fields, atmospheric dynamics and composition, and evolution.

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    Artist depiction of Juno spacecraft in orbit about the planet Jupiter
    Flight Project

    Lucy

    Lucy will perform the first reconnaissance of the Jupiter Trojan asteroids, a large population of objects whose dark surfaces may be rich in organic materials. Trojans, which may have originated in the Kuiper belt, could hold vital clues to deciphering the history of the solar system. Lucy was launched in 2021. During its 12-year primary mission, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids, flying by one main belt asteroid, and seven Trojans. No other space mission in history has been launched to as many different destinations in independent orbits around our Sun.

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    An artist’s conception of the Lucy spacecraft flying by the Trojan Eurybates - Credits: SwRI and SSL/Peter Rubin
    Instrument

    New Horizons - Ralph/Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA)

    Drs. Donald Jennings and Dennis Reuter, of Goddard's Planetary Systems Laboratory, serve as Principal Investigators with New Horizon's Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA) instrument.

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        photo of launch of New Horizons
        Flight Project

        OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer (OSIRIS-APEX)

        OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer (APEX) is the extended mission for OSIRIS-REx, sending the spacecraft to a new destination after the sample collected from asteroid Bennu was returned to Earth in September 2023. APEX will rendezvous with near-Earth asteroid Apophis just after it makes a close approach to Earth in 2029. Following the observation strategy performed at Bennu, APEX will use the same instrument suite to perform comprehensive observations of this potentially hazardous object. Although it cannot return a sample, the mission will also use the spacecraft thrusters to excavate the surface for further analysis. OSIRIS-APEX is led by PI Daniella DellaGiustina of the University of Arizona and managed by GSFC.

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          Flight Project

          OSIRIS-REx (OSIRIS-REx)

          OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security--Regolith Explorer) launched September 8, 2016. It explored the Near Earth Asteroid (101955) Bennu in detail including with the Goddard-built OVIRS instrument. OSIRIS-REx collected a sample in October 2020 and returned it to Earth on September 24, 2023. This sample will help us investigate planet formation and the origin of life, and the data collected at the asteroid will also aid our understanding of asteroids that can impact Earth (Bennu is a potentially hazardous object with a 1-in-2,700 chance of impacting Earth between the years 2175 and 2199). OSIRIS-REx is led by PI Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona and managed by GSFC.

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            OSIRIS-REx Logo
            Instrument

            OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer (OVIRS)

            In addition to providing project management for the OSIRIS-REx mission, Goddard Space Flight Center will build one of the spacecraft's principal instruments, the Visible and Infrared Spectrometer (OVIRS).

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              artist concept of osiris rex spacecraft

              Planetary Spectrum Generator (PSG)

              The Planetary Spectrum Generator (PSG) is a radiative transfer model suite for synthesizing and retrieving planetary spectra for a broad range of wavelengths from any observatory, orbiter and/or lander.

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                  Graphic representing the parts of the PSG system
                  Instrument

                  Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS)

                  Launched in February 2013, the Landsat-8 carries on-board the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), a two-band thermal pushbroom imager that measures land surface temperature in two thermal bands with a new technology that applies quantum physics to detect heat.

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                    TIRS logo
                    Instrument

                    Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2)

                    Landsat 9’s Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2) will measure land surface temperature in two thermal infrared bands using the same technology that was used for TIRS on Landsat 8, which uses principles of quantum physics to measure emissions of infrared energy. TIRS-2 will be an improved version of Landsat 8's TIRS, both with regards to instrument class and stray light reduction (see below). However, both the design and specs for TIRS-2 will remain closely aligned with that of TIRS. The TIRS-2 instrument will be a two-band thermal imaging sensor that will provide imagery consistent with Landsat 8 thermal spectral, spatial, radiometric and geometric qualities to enable consistent retrieval of surface temperature. TIRS-2 will provide two spectral bands with a maximum ground sampling distance, both in-track and cross track, of 100 m (328 ft) for both bands. TIRS-2 provides an internal blackbody calibration source as well as space view capabilities.

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                      Photo of TIRS-2 focal plane

                      Contact Us

                      Brittany Griffith
                      Project Support Specialist
                      301-286-7215
                      brittany.griffith@nasa.gov

                      General inquiries about the scientific programs at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center may be directed to the Office of Public Affairs at 1.301.286.8955.