Imaging Spectrometer Inside Thermal Vacuum Chamber
A technician slides an imaging spectrometer instrument, which will measure the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide from space, into a thermal vacuum test chamber at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in July 2023.
The thermal vacuum chamber test is one of a series meant to ensure that the instrument can withstand the rigors of launch and the harsh conditions of space. Engineers use the chamber to subject the spectrometer to the extreme temperatures it will encounter in the vacuum of space.
The instrument shipped Sept. 12, 2023, from JPL to Planet Labs PBC in San Francisco, where it will be integrated into a Tanager satellite.
Designed and built by JPL, imaging spectrometer will be part of an effort led by the nonprofit Carbon Mapper organization to collect data on greenhouse gas point-source emissions. The information will help locate and quantify "super-emitters" – the small percentage of individual sources responsible for a significant fraction of methane and carbon dioxide emissions around the world.