Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS)

The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) was a NASA Small Explorer Program (SMEX) project designed to gain a greater understanding of star formation by determining the composition of interstellar clouds and establishing the means by which these clouds cool as they collapse to form stars and planets. Its focus is on the spectral lines of: water (H2O) at 556.936 GHz, molecular oxygen (O2) at 487.249 GHz, neutral carbon (CI) at 492.161 GHz, isotopic carbon monoxide (13CO) at 550.927 GHz, and isotopic water (H218O) at 548.676 GHz, all used to make detailed 1 degree x 1 degree maps of at least twenty giant molecular and dark cloud cores during the first 2 years of the mission.

This dataset or service is made available by the Infrared Science Archive (IRSA) at IPAC, which is operated by the California Institute of Technology under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.