X-RAY POLARIMETER SATELLITE (XPoSat) Mission

Why in News?                                                                                                        

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced a plan to launch its first X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) Mission.

What is X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite (XpoSat) Mission?

• Objectives –
• To measure X-ray polarization from X-ray sources.
• To conduct long-term studies of the spectral and temporal characteristics of cosmic X-ray sources.
• It will supplement the traditional time and frequency domain studies.
• Launch vehicle be Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
• Duration of mission will be 5 years.
• To be placed in Low Earth Orbit.
• Payloads –
• POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays): It will measure the polarimetry parameters (degree and angle of polarization) in medium X-ray energy range of 8-30 keV photons of astronomical origin. It is being developed by Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bangalore in collaboration with U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC).
• XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing): It will give spectroscopic information (on how light is absorbed and emitted by objects). It would observe several types of sources such as X-ray pulsars, blackhole binaries, low-magnetic field neutron star etc. It was developed by the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre, ISRO
• It is India’s first and the world’s second polarimetry mission.

The other such major mission is NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) that was launched in 2021.