How SPICE works
Spectroscopy by SPICE
SPICE is a spectrometer, which means that it separates and measures the light spectrum. The light that we receive from the Sun has many components: Newton, with his famous prism experiment, showed this:
We basically get to do Newton's experiment, but in space, and with actual measurements!
A very simple experiment would be as the image: a source, a bench, a slit, a prism, a lens and a spectrum collector:
This an overview of the different hardware contributions from different institutes:
For SPICE, the light that comes from the source is detected by an optical unit, the telescope mirror, shown here.
Then, instead of a prism, the light components are split thanks to a grating (pic1). The image of the ‘split’ light is then collected on a detector. (pic2).
And finally, this is where SPICE is on the whole spacecraft! Tucked in with all the other telescopes, protected by the thermal shield.
For more advanced information, here is a link to the scientific paper presenting SPICE & its operation: https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/forth/aa35574-19.pdf