VIRTIS: The Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer

Abstract

The VIRTIS imaging spectrometer built for ESA's Rosetta cometary mission is a versatile instrument that is also well-suited to Venus observations. The discovery of the near-IR windows in the atmosphere of Venus from ground-based observations in the 1980s showed that the surface of the planet can be studied via IR observations over the nightside. Imaging spectroscopy in the visible and near-IR can study the atmosphere from the uppermost layers down to the deepest levels. With its unique combination of mapping capabilities at low spectral resolution (VIRTIS-M) and high spectral resolution slit spectroscopy (VIRTIS-H), the instrument is ideal for making extensive IR and visible spectral images of the planet