The US Aerospace Agency NASA launched an X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Research Mission (IXPE, abbreviation in English) last Thursday (9). The mission is the result of a joint effort by the Italian space agency ASI and 12 other international organizations.
The IXPE’s goal is to observe the polarization of X-rays in supernovae, supermassive black holes and high-energy objects scattered throughout the universe.
The launch was carried out from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. “Together with our partners in Italy and around the world, we have added a new observatory to our fleet that will shape our understanding of the universe for years to come. Each NASA aircraft is carefully selected for observations that open up new possibilities for science, and IXPE will show us a cruel universe around us like we’ve never seen before, ”said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA Science Mission Catalog Administrator.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was responsible for putting the IXPE into orbit. The module contains three special telescopes with polarimetric detectors – a property that allows you to identify details in the light spectrum that can reveal the origin of electromagnetic radiation. IXPE is considered the successor to other polarized X-ray capture projects such as the Chandra Observatory, NASA’s premier X-ray telescope.
