Opto-mechanical design of the near-infrared spectrograph NIRSpec

The NIRSpec instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a multi-object spectrograph capable of measuring the near infrared spectrum of at least 100 objects simultaneously at various spectral resolutions. It operates under cryogenic conditions (T~ 35 K). NIRSpec is part of the JWST science instruments suite. Its main purpose is to provide low (R=100), medium (R=1000) and high resolution (R=2700) spectroscopic observations over the wavelength range 0.6 μm - 5.0 μm in support of the four JWST science programs. The NIRSpec instrument is being developed by the European Space Agency with EADS Astrium Germany GmbH as the prime contractor.