NEW ORLEANS — Japan’s X-ray astronomy satellite, a collaboration between NASA and ESA, is operating smoothly in orbit four months after launch, except for a possible problem affecting one of its instruments. Masu.
On September 6, Japan’s space agency JAXA launched the X-ray Imaging Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) on H-2A. XRISM is a replacement for the Hitomi spacecraft, which failed shortly after launch in 2016.
JAXA and NASA announced the first data from XRISM on January 5, demonstrating the performance of its two main instruments: a spectrometer called Resolve and an imager called Xtend. NASA collaborated with JAXA on Resolve’s development and also built the spacecraft’s X-ray mirror assembly.
Richard Kelly, XRISM’s U.S. principal investigator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, told the 243rd meeting that formal operations for XRISM are scheduled to end at the end of this month.rd January 8th meeting of the American Astronomical Society here. “The spacecraft is performing very well,” he said, adding that the two instruments meet or exceed most requirements.
The only serious problem, he said, is with the Resolve’s aperture door. The door was supposed to open after launch, but despite several attempts, it did not.
The door has a beryllium window and stainless steel mesh. Beryllium is relatively transparent to his x-rays, so the device will work with the door closed, but throughput will be reduced, especially for low-energy hex-rays.
“JAXA is very seriously and vigorously investigating what’s going on here,” Kelly said. He did not estimate how likely these efforts would open the door, but said, “People are very hopeful that eventually it will open.”
“It’s frustrating at the moment for our team and for the scientists who want to use the observatory, but we have to look at the big picture here,” he said, noting that most of the science planned at Resolve will be at high altitude. He pointed out that it is related to the energy of X-rays. Affected by doors. “We just need to look at some targets longer.”