JIRAM, the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper

• Published in: Space science reviews 2017-11, Vol.213 (1-4), p.393-446
• Main Authors: Adriani, Alberto, Filacchione, Gianrico, Di Iorio, Tatiana, Turrini, Diego, Noschese, Raffaella, Cicchetti, Andrea, Grassi, Davide, Mura, Alessandro, Sindoni, Giuseppe, Zambelli, Massimo, Piccioni, Giuseppe, Capria, Maria T., Tosi, Federico, Orosei, Roberto, Dinelli, Bianca M., Moriconi, Maria L., Roncon, Elio, Lunine, Jonathan I., Becker, Heidi N., Bini, Alessadro, Barbis, Alessandra, Calamai, Luciano, Pasqui, Claudio, Nencioni, Stefano, Rossi, Maurizio, Lastri, Marco, Formaro, Roberto, Olivieri, Angelo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aerospace Technology and Astronautics; Astrophysics and Astroparticles; Atmospheric structure; Auroras; Calibration; Infrared radiation; Jupiter; Jupiter atmosphere; Jupiter probes; Mapping; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Planetology; Polar orbits; Space Exploration and Astronautics; Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics; Spacecraft
• ISSN: 0038-6308; 1572-9672
• DOI: 10.1007/s11214-014-0094-y

JIRAM is an imager/spectrometer on board the Juno spacecraft bound for a polar orbit around Jupiter. JIRAM is composed of IR imager and spectrometer channels. Its scientific goals are to explore the Jovian aurorae and the planet’s atmospheric structure, dynamics and composition. This paper explains the characteristics and functionalities of the instrument and reports on the results of ground calibrations. It discusses the main subsystems to the extent needed to understand how the instrument is sequenced and used, the purpose of the calibrations necessary to determine instrument performance, the process for generating the commanding sequences, the main elements of the observational strategy, and the format of the scientific data that JIRAM will produce.