Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:17, 23 March 2006

Revision as of 23:07, 14 May 2006

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NICMOS was installed on Hubble during its second servicing mission in [[1997]], when two previous [[spectrograph]] instruments were replaced by the [[Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph]].

When conducting infrared measurements, it is necessary to keep the infrared detectors cooled to avoid having infrared interference from the detector's own heat emissions, so the NICMOS was designed to fit inside a cryogenic [[dewar]], cooling the detector with a block of solid [[nitrogen]]. When NICMOS was installed in 1997, the [[dewar flask]] contained a 230 pound (104 kg) block of nitrogen ice. However, due to unforseen design problems, the dewar ran out of nitrogen coolant after less than two years, and had to stop operation. However, during Hubble Service Mission 3B in 2002, a [[cryocooler]] was installed on the Hubble that provides additional refrigeration to the NICMOS through a refrigerated [[neon]] loop, allowing it to resume observation measurements.

[[Category:Hubble Space Telescope]]