Mirror Quadrants for XRISM

  • Released Thursday, January 30, 2020
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XRISM team member Yang Soong, a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, displays completed mirror elements for an X-ray Mirror Assembly developed for the JAXA/NASA mission. Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

XRISM team member Yang Soong, a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, displays completed mirror elements for an X-ray Mirror Assembly developed for the JAXA/NASA mission.

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

The X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM, pronounced “crism”) is a collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA, along with ESA participation, to investigate the X-ray universe using high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy. XRISM features two instruments: Resolve, an X-ray calorimeter spectrometer, and Xtend, an X-ray imager.

These images, taken in June 2019, show completed elements of one XRISM flight X-ray Mirror Assembly (XMA). Each XMA includes both a primary and a secondary mirror. Each mirror has four quadrants with 203 nested foil mirror segments apiece, for a total of 1,624 mirror segments in one XMA.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center developed the X-ray Mirror Assemblies, as well as the Resolve detector and many of its subsystems. XRISM is expected to launch in 2023.

XRISM team member Yang Soong, a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, adjusts one quadrant of an X-ray Mirror Assembly developed for the JAXA/NASA mission. Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

XRISM team member Yang Soong, a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, adjusts one quadrant of an X-ray Mirror Assembly developed for the JAXA/NASA mission.

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

XRISM team member Yang Soong, a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, adjusts one quadrant of an X-ray Mirror Assembly developed for the JAXA/NASA mission. Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

XRISM team member Yang Soong, a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, adjusts one quadrant of an X-ray Mirror Assembly developed for the JAXA/NASA mission.

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

XRISM team member Yang Soong, a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, displays one of the 1,624 foil mirror segments used in an X-ray Mirror Assembly being built for the JAXA/NASA mission. Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

XRISM team member Yang Soong, a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, displays one of the 1,624 foil mirror segments used in an X-ray Mirror Assembly being built for the JAXA/NASA mission.

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

An X-ray Mirror Assembly being built for the JAXA/NASA XRISM mission consists of a primary and secondary mirror, each containing 812 nested foil mirror segments. Team member Yang Soong, a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, looks on. Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

An X-ray Mirror Assembly being built for the JAXA/NASA XRISM mission consists of a primary and secondary mirror, each containing 812 nested foil mirror segments. Team member Yang Soong, a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, looks on.

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

XRISM team member Yang Soong, a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, displays a completed mirror quadrant from an X-ray Mirror Assembly being built for the JAXA/NASA mission. Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

XRISM team member Yang Soong, a researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, displays a completed mirror quadrant from an X-ray Mirror Assembly being built for the JAXA/NASA mission.

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Completed quadrants of an X-ray Mirror Assembly being built for the JAXA/NASA XRISM mission are shown. Team member Lawrence Lozipone of Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. appears in the background.Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Completed quadrants of an X-ray Mirror Assembly being built for the JAXA/NASA XRISM mission are shown. Team member Lawrence Lozipone of Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. appears in the background.

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Completed quadrants for an X-ray Mirror Assembly being developed for the JAXA/NASA XRISM mission appear in the foreground as team member Lawrence Lozipone of Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. adjusts one for another assembly in the background.Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Completed quadrants for an X-ray Mirror Assembly being developed for the JAXA/NASA XRISM mission appear in the foreground as team member Lawrence Lozipone of Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. adjusts one for another assembly in the background.

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credit: Taylor Mickal/NASA

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. However, individual items should be credited as indicated above.

This page was originally published on Thursday, January 30, 2020.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:45 PM EDT.

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