A new satellite called XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, pronounced \u201ccrism\u201d) aims to pry apart high-energy light into the equivalent of an X-ray rainbow. The mission, led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), will do this using an instrument called Resolve. XRISM is scheduled to launch from Japan\u2019s Tanegashima Space Center on Aug. 25, 2023 (Aug. 26 in Japan).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cResolve will give us a new look into some of the universe\u2019s most energetic objects, including black holes, clusters of galaxies, and the aftermath of stellar explosions,\u201d said Richard Kelley, NASA\u2019s XRISM principal investigator at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. \u201cWe\u2019ll learn more about how they behave and what they\u2019re made of using the data the mission collects after launch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Resolve is an X-ray microcalorimeter spectrometer instrument collaboration between NASA and JAXA. It measures tiny temperature changes created when an X-ray hits its 6-by-6-pixel detector. To measure that minuscule increase and determine the X-ray\u2019s energy, the detector needs to cool down to around minus 460 Fahrenheit (minus 270 Celsius), just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The instrument reaches its operating temperature after a multistage mechanical cooling process inside a refrigerator-sized container of liquid helium. By collecting thousands or even millions of X-rays from a cosmic source, Resolve can measure high-resolution spectra of the object. Spectra are measurements of light\u2019s intensity over a range of energies. Prisms spread visible light into its different energies, which we know better as the colors of the rainbow. Scientists used prisms in early spectrometers to look for spectral lines, which occur when atoms or molecules absorb or emit energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now astronomers use spectrometers, tuned to all kinds of light, to learn about cosmic objects\u2019 physical states, motions, and compositions. Resolve will do spectroscopy for X-rays with energies ranging from 400 to 12,000 electron volts by measuring the energies of individual X-rays to form a spectrum. (For comparison, visible light energies range from about 2 to 3 electron volts.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe spectra XRISM collects will be the most detailed we\u2019ve ever seen for some of the phenomena we\u2019ll observe,\u201d said Brian Williams, NASA\u2019s XRISM project scientist at Goddard. \u201cThe mission will provide us with insights into some of the most difficult places to study, like the internal structures of neutron stars and near-light-speed particle jets powered by black holes in active galaxies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mission\u2019s other instrument, developed by JAXA, is called Xtend. It will give XRISM one of the largest fields of view of any X-ray imaging satellite flown to date, observing an area about 60% larger than the average apparent size of the full Moon. Resolve and Xtend rely on two identical X-ray Mirror Assemblies developed at Goddard. XRISM is a collaborative mission between JAXA and NASA, with participation by ESA (European Space Agency). NASA\u2019s contribution includes science participation from the Canadian Space Agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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