Design and development of MIRI, the mid-IR instrument for JWST

Abstract

MIRI is the mid-IR instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope and provides imaging, coronography and integral field spectroscopy over the 5-28μm wavelength range. MIRI is the only instrument which is cooled to 7K by a dedicated cooler, much lower than the passively cooled 40K of the rest of JWST, which introduces unique challenges. The paper will describe the key features of the overall instrument design. The flight model design of the MIRI Optical System is completed, with hardware now in manufacture across Europe and the USA, while the MIRI Cooler System is at PDR level development. A brief description of how the different development stages of the optical and cooling systems are accommodated is provided, but the paper largely describes progress with the MIRI Optical System. We report the current status of the development and provide an overview of the results from the qualification and test programme.