1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,494
[MUSIC PLAYING]

2
00:00:01,494 --> 00:00:13,460


3
00:00:13,460 --> 00:00:15,290
We're here at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory

4
00:00:15,290 --> 00:00:18,290
in Pasadena, California,
home of Mars rovers.

5
00:00:18,290 --> 00:00:20,480
But it turns out the
folks working here

6
00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:22,290
are doing a lot more than that.

7
00:00:22,290 --> 00:00:24,860
And I just happen to have
here Dr. Mike Ressler.

8
00:00:24,860 --> 00:00:27,260
He is a MIRI project scientist.

9
00:00:27,260 --> 00:00:29,040
MIRI project
Scientist-- a mouthful.

10
00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:30,960
What do you do in a nutshell?

11
00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,470
So MIRI is an instrument that
will fly on the James Webb

12
00:00:33,470 --> 00:00:34,520
Space Telescope.

13
00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,190
And it's sensitive to infrared
light rather than visible

14
00:00:37,190 --> 00:00:38,030
wavelengths.

15
00:00:38,030 --> 00:00:41,030
So we can see the heat from
astronomical sources rather

16
00:00:41,030 --> 00:00:43,460
than the visible
light that you see

17
00:00:43,460 --> 00:00:45,440
if you look through a
telescope with your eyes.

18
00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:49,190
You are in charge of the
production of the detectors?

19
00:00:49,190 --> 00:00:50,810
What exactly is the detector?

20
00:00:50,810 --> 00:00:52,800
The detectors are the sensors.

21
00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:54,680
So if you have a
digital camera, there's

22
00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:57,320
a little electronic chip
in the heart of the camera.

23
00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:58,400
And that's the sensor.

24
00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,340
It's what gathers the
light from the lenses

25
00:01:01,340 --> 00:01:03,590
and converts it into a picture
that you can look at it

26
00:01:03,590 --> 00:01:04,905
on your computer later on.

27
00:01:04,905 --> 00:01:06,530
So the instrument
that we're working on

28
00:01:06,530 --> 00:01:08,070
does exactly the same thing.

29
00:01:08,070 --> 00:01:09,120
Let's take a look at it.

30
00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,240
And I think we have to
get into bunny suits.

31
00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:12,080
Is that right?

32
00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,210
Well, smocks, to
keep things clean.

33
00:01:14,210 --> 00:01:16,970


34
00:01:16,970 --> 00:01:18,770
So much for getting
my hair done today.

35
00:01:18,770 --> 00:01:20,360
One size fits all?

36
00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:21,600
Or one size fits none.

37
00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:22,100
Oh.

38
00:01:22,100 --> 00:01:30,980


39
00:01:30,980 --> 00:01:32,720
We have a light
source, basically

40
00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:34,340
a very sophisticated
little light

41
00:01:34,340 --> 00:01:36,780
bulb, that's mounted in
our test setup that's

42
00:01:36,780 --> 00:01:38,210
shining on the detector.

43
00:01:38,210 --> 00:01:40,880
And the detector is
collecting light in steps.

44
00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:45,210
We can see that the detector
is indeed very sensitive.

45
00:01:45,210 --> 00:01:47,900
It responds very well to light.

46
00:01:47,900 --> 00:01:50,420
By where it saturates,
we can tell how bright

47
00:01:50,420 --> 00:01:53,510
a star we'll be able to look
at once James Webb actually

48
00:01:53,510 --> 00:01:54,078
launches.

49
00:01:54,078 --> 00:01:56,120
All those bright spots
are bright because they're

50
00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:56,787
supposed to be--

51
00:01:56,787 --> 00:01:58,580
No bad pixels, no hot pixels--

52
00:01:58,580 --> 00:02:02,290
everything's just
as it should be.

53
00:02:02,290 --> 00:02:06,240
The detectors go through
environmental tests.

54
00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,580
They're shaken and
chilled to make sure they

55
00:02:08,580 --> 00:02:12,720
survive the rigors of space.

56
00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:15,198
So now it's time to do a
final inspection of the unit

57
00:02:15,198 --> 00:02:16,740
to make sure nothing's
happened to it

58
00:02:16,740 --> 00:02:18,440
while we were doing the testing.

59
00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:20,940
So we want to check it to make
sure that nobody accidentally

60
00:02:20,940 --> 00:02:22,230
got a fingerprint on it.

61
00:02:22,230 --> 00:02:24,420
We want to make sure
there are no broken wires

62
00:02:24,420 --> 00:02:26,340
or other damage to the unit.

63
00:02:26,340 --> 00:02:28,630
We want to make sure
everything is just fine.

64
00:02:28,630 --> 00:02:30,510
So we're really wrapping up.

65
00:02:30,510 --> 00:02:32,580
And we're able to say
this module is fully

66
00:02:32,580 --> 00:02:34,260
qualified and ready to go.

67
00:02:34,260 --> 00:02:36,330
The Mid-Infrared
Instrument or MIRI

68
00:02:36,330 --> 00:02:38,550
has three detectors,
all of which

69
00:02:38,550 --> 00:02:40,980
have to be precisely
aligned with each other

70
00:02:40,980 --> 00:02:43,800
to within half the
width of a human hair.

71
00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,160
Thanks for taking this tour
with us Behind the Webb.

72
00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,310
[MUSIC PLAYING]

73
00:02:49,310 --> 00:03:01,000