Exploring the Saturn System in the Thermal Infrared: The Composite Infrared Spectrometer

The Composite Inbred Spectrometer (CIRS) is a remote-sensing Fourier Transform Spectrometer on the Cassini orbiter that measures thermal radiation over two decades in wave number, from 10 to 1400 cm (1 mm to 7pm), with a spectral resolution that can be set from 0.5 to 20 cm. The far in portion of the spectrum (10 - 600 cm) is measured with a polarizing interferometer having thermopile detectors with a common 4-mrad field of view. The middle infrared portion is measured with a traditional Michelson interferometer having two focal planes (600 - 1100cm, 1100-1400 cm). Each focal plane is composed of a 1x10 array of HgCdTe detectors, each detector having a 0.3-mrad field of view. CIRS observations will provide three-dimensional maps of temperature, gas composition, and aerosols/condensates of the atmospheres of Titan and Saturn with good vertical and horizontal resolution, from deep in their tropospheres to high in their mesospheres. CIRS ability to observe atmospheres in the limb viewing mode (in addition to nadir) offers the opportunity to provide accurate and highly resolved vertical profiles of these atmospheric variables. The ability to observe with high-spectral resolution should facilitate the identification of new constituents. CIRS will also map the thermal and compositional properties of the surfaces of Saturn's icy satellites. It will similarly map Saturn's rings, characterizing their formation and evolution. The combination of broad spectral range, programmable spectral resolution, the small detector fields of view, and an orbiting spacecraft platform will allow CIRS to observe the Saturnian system in the thermal infrared at a level of detail not previously achieved.