The James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) instrument will offer a powerful multi-object spectroscopic capability enabled by the micro-shutter arrays (MSAs). The MSAs are fixed grids of configurable shutters that can be opened and closed on astronomical scenes. With this mode, the NIRSpec instrument can observe more than 100 targets simultaneously. The NIRSpec team and software developers at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) have been implementing specialized algorithms in an MSA Planning Tool (MPT) to facilitate the complex observation planning process. Two main algorithms, the “Fixed Dithers” and “Flexible Dithers” algorithms, have been defined to achieve optimal multiplexing results with different observing strategies. The MPT is available to the astronomical community as part of the ASTRONOMER’S PROPOSAL TOOL (APT), an integrated software package for the preparation of observing proposals developed by STScI.

Date Published: 6 August 2014
PDF: 14 pages
Proc. SPIE 9149, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems V, 91491Z (6 August 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2056387

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9149:
Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems V
Alison B. Peck; Chris R. Benn; Robert L. Seaman, Editor(s)