NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) is seen with its solar panels open during testing at a Lockheed Martin facility in California.
LMSAL/NASA
NASA telescope to explore sun —
The main telescope is connected to the back-end electronics of IRIS.
LMSAL/NASA
NASA telescope to explore sun —
Technicians work on the payload fairing built to protect the IRIS spacecraft during launch aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket.
NASA
NASA telescope to explore sun —
Engineers work on the nose of the Pegasus XL rocket used to carry IRIS into space.
VAFB/Rnady Beaudoin/NASA
NASA telescope to explore sun —
This image taken from video shows the Pegasus rocket taking off with the IRIS spacecraft on board on June 27.
NASA
NASA telescope to explore sun —
This image from the Hinode satellite, a joint NASA-Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency mission, shows the lower regions of the sun's atmosphere, called the interface region, which IRIS will study.
JAXA/Hinode/NASA
NASA telescope to explore sun —
This image from the Hinode mission shows the lower regions of the sun's atmosphere, the interface region, which IRIS will study in detail.
