NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) is a Small Explorer (SMEX) mission that allows scientists to trace the flow of solar energy and plasma up through its atmosphere from the visible surface into the dynamic corona. IRIS has simultaneous spectroscopy and imaging to investigate the radiation, dynamics and spatial structure of the Sun’s atmosphere in detail.
Since 2015, by agreement with NASA, ESA facilitates scientists working in its Member States to be trained and to act as science planners for IRIS, allowing them to learn the process of planning and to get access to time to run their own experiments with the mission. ESA’s 11th announcement of opportunity is expected to be issued soon on this page and the heliophysics community is encouraged to submit their proposals.