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IRAS

IRAS was a joint NASA-Netherlands-United Kingdom mission that performed the first complete infrared survey of the sky from low Earth orbit, detecting hundreds of thousands of sources and finding new comets and circumstellar dust systems.

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Identity

Aliases
Infrared Astronomical Satellite missionIRAS mission
Name
IRAS
Status
completed

Details

Astronauts
-
Description
IRAS was a joint NASA-Netherlands-United Kingdom mission that performed the first complete infrared survey of the sky from low Earth orbit, detecting hundreds of thousands of sources and finding new comets and circumstellar dust systems.
Destination
Low Earth orbit
End Date
1983-11-21
Launch Site
Outcome
IRAS surveyed more than 95 percent of the sky over roughly ten months before exhausting its liquid-helium coolant and ending science operations.
Start Date
1983-01-26
Vehicle Families

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Assets & Meta

Creation Time
August 1, 2026 at 08:38:43 UTC
Updated Time
August 1, 2026 at 08:38:43 UTC

Other

Affiliations
Programs
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Space Stations
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Vehicles
IRAS - AeroVia