Past Missions

2MASS: The Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) is a near-infrared digital imaging survey of the entire sky conducted by the University of Massachusetts and IPAC at 1.25, 1.65 and 2.17 microns. A pair of matched 1.3-m diameter telescopes (Arizona and Chile) completed survey operations in early 2001. Data processing and product development will continue through 2003. Key science goals of the survey include the large-scale structure of the Milky Way and the Local Universe, an accurate census of stars in the solar neighborhood, and the discovery of new brown dwarfs and active galactic nuclei.

ISO: The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) was launched by ESA in late 1995 and operated for 30 months before the cryogen was exhausted. A cooled 60-cm telescope and four science instruments conducted nearly 30,000 observations at wavelengths between 2.5 and 240 microns. Subsequent processing and analysis of data will continue through 2001. ISO has left a rich treasure of scientific results, ranging from the Solar System to galaxies in the distant Universe. ISO data are available for archival research by the entire science community.

WIRE: The Wide-field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) was a NASA Small Explorer mission launched in March 1999. The four-month mission was designed to use a 30-cm telescope to conduct a mid-infrared survey of the Universe and to study the birth and evolution of starburst galaxies. The primary science goals were not attained following the premature ejection of the telescope cover, an anomalous warming of the telescope, and to a rapid depletion of the cryogen. Spacecraft operations were redirected to use the star tracker for long-term monitoring of bright stars to study astroseismology and to use stellar occultations in the search for extrasolar planets.

MSX: The Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX), a BMDO-sponsored military satellite, was launched in April 1996. Among the experiments was in infrared telescope that operated for about 10 months. Capable of observing at wavelengths from 4 to 26 microns, the infrared payload was designed to map celestial IR backgrounds. Collaborative efforts between the Air Force Research Laboratory and IPAC has resulted in an archive containing images for about 15 percent of the sky, including the entire Galactic Plane, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and regions of the sky missed by IRAS.

IRAS: For ten months in 1983, the InfraRed Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) scanned more than 96 percent of the sky, providing the first high sensitivity celestial maps at mid- to far-infrared wavelengths. This path-breaking infrared satellite doubled the number of known astronomical sources and made numerous important discoveries. The rich heritage of IRAS includes the discovery of planetary debris disks around nearby stars, the ubiquity of infrared cirrus throughout the Galaxy and an entire class of ultraluminous infrared galaxies. Archival research with IRAS data continues nearly 20 years after this historic mission.

Operational Missions

Missions in Development

Proposed Missions