CSIP: PRELIMS BOOSTER SERIES-341 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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.