IRIS Mission Logo

IRIS mission logo features a sun, a prism with a rainbow light spectrum coming from it, and on the bottom a list of mission partners: NASA, LMSAL, LMS&ES, ARC, SAO, UiO, MSU, LSJU.

The primary goal of the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) explorer is to understand how the solar atmosphere is energized. The IRIS investigation combines advanced numerical modeling with a high resolution UV imaging spectrograph.

IRIS fills a crucial gap in our ability to advance Sun-Earth connection studies by tracing the flow of energy and plasma through this foundation of the corona and heliosphere.

IRIS is expected to be launched in early 2013. Credit: LMSAL