Commissioning the scientific instruments of the James Webb Space Telescope

Abstract

The James Webb Space Telescope features a powerful complement of focal-plane instruments: the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), the Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS), the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), and the Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS). These instruments offer an exciting suite of scientific capabilities for imaging, high-contrast imaging, and spectroscopy. To bring these capabilities on-line after launch, a carefully scoped and sequenced set of commissioning activities has been developed. These activities will confirm the functionality of the instruments, characterize their performance (optimizing where possible), obtain initial calibrations at a level required to properly plan observations, and demonstrate essential operational sequences such as target acquisition. We present a high-level overview of these activities and the planned commissioning timeline to execute them.