NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is poised to capture crisp images of the universe. But before it takes off, it is still in the process of commissioning its 17 science instrument modes. 

The space agency recently invited Nathalie Ouellette of the Université de Montréal to provide further information regarding the modes of the Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) - Canada's scientific instrument aboard Webb. 

Using near-infrared light with wavelengths up to 5.0 microns, Ouellette said that NIRISS would be able to record images and spectra from all kinds of astronomical objects.

To gather various types of data that are useful for specific targets and scientific goals, the NIRISS team has created four instrument modes.

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