Diagram of WISPR

The Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) is an imaging instrument of the Parker Solar Probe mission to the Sun, launched in August 2018.[1] Imaging targets include visible light images of the corona, solar wind, shocks, solar ejecta, etc.[1] Development of WISPR was led by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.[2] The Parker Solar Probe with WISPR on board was launched by a Delta IV Heavy on 12 August 2018 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.[3] WISPR is intended take advantage of the spacecraft's proximity to the Sun by taking coronagraph-style images of the solar corona and features like coronal streamers, plumes, and mass ejections.[4] One of the goals is to better understand the structure of the solar corona near the Sun.[4]

WISPR is designed to study the electron density and velocity structure of the corona.[5] The instrument field of view is planned to extend from 13 to 108 degrees away from the Sun, and does not directly image the Sun; the area of interest is a very wide field extending away from the Sun.[1]

WISPR includes two separate telescopes, each with a radiation-hardened CMOS imager with resolution of 2,048×1,920 pixels.[6] The CMOS sensors are an active pixel sensor type of detector.[7]

The WISPR first light image was published in September 2018.[8] In December, a view of the corona including a coronal streamer was released.[9]

In November 2018, a video of WIPSR recording solar wind during the spacecraft's first close pass to the Sun was released.[10] One project scientist noted, "The data we’re seeing from Parker Solar Probe’s instruments is showing us details about solar structures and processes that we have never seen before."[10]

Development

The stray light and baffle for WISPR was modeled during development of the instrument.[11] Two noted cases where stray material caused issue with space imaging includes the Infrared Telescope (IRT) flown on the Space Shuttle Spacelab-2 mission, in which a piece of mylar insulation broke loose and floated into the line-of-sight of the telescope corrupting data.[12] This was on the STS-51-F in the year 1985.[12] Another case was in the 2010s on the Gaia spacecraft for which some stray light was identified coming from fibers of the sunshield, protruding beyond the edges of the shield.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Looking at the Corona with WISPR on Parker Solar Probe". NASA/Goddard Media Studios. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "NRL's Sun Imaging Telescopes Fly on NASA Parker Solar Probe". U.S. Navy. 10 August 2018. NNS180810-19. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  3. ↑ Brown, Geoffrey; Brown, Dwayne; Fox, Karen (12 August 2018). "Parker Solar Probe Launches on Historic Journey to Touch the Sun". Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  4. 1 2 "NRL's Sun Imaging Telescopes Fly on NASA Parker Solar Probe". U.S. Navy/Naval Research Laboratory. 10 August 2018. NNS180810-19. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  5. ↑ "Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe Plus (WISPR)". U.S. Navy/Naval Research Laboratory. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR)". SRI International. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Garner, Rob, ed. (12 July 2018). "Parker Solar Probe Instruments". NASA. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  8. 1 2 Frazier, Sarah; Surowiec, Justyna (19 September 2018). "Illuminating First Light Data from Parker Solar Probe". Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Preparing for Discovery With NASA's Parker Solar Probe". Parker Solar Probe. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
  10. 1 2 Garner, Rob (2019-08-12). "One Year, 2 Trips Around Sun for NASA's Parker Solar Probe". NASA. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  11. ↑ Hellin, M.-L.; Mazy, E.; Marcotte, S.; Stockman, Y.; Korendyke, C.; Thernisien, A. (25 September 2017). "Stray light testing of WISPR baffle development model". In Sodnik, Zoran; Cugny, Bruno; Karafolas, Nikos (eds.). International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2016. Vol. 10562. SPIE. pp. 1420–1428. Bibcode:2017SPIE10562E..4VH. doi:10.1117/12.2296104. ISBN 9781510616134.
  12. 1 2 Kent, S. M.; Mink, D.; Fazio, G.; Koch, D.; Melnick, G.; Tardiff, A.; Maxson, C. (1 February 1992). "Galactic Structure from the Spacelab Infrared Telescope. I. 2.4 Micron Map". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 78: 403. Bibcode:1992ApJS...78..403K. doi:10.1086/191633. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "20141217 Status of Gaia straylight analysis - Gaia - Cosmos". www.cosmos.esa.int.
  14. ↑ Garner, Rob (22 October 2018). "Parker Solar Probe Looks Back at Home". NASA. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  15. ↑ Buckley, Mike. "Parker Solar Probe Captures a Planetary Portrait". Parker Solar Probe. Johns Hopkins APL. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  16. ↑ Hatfield, Miles (9 February 2022). "Parker Solar Probe Captures Visible Light Images of Venus' Surface". NASA. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
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