Universe  ID: 20374

XRISM Beauty Shots

This page contains animations and illustrations of the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch into orbit around Earth in 2023.

The mission, abbreviated XRISM (pronounced “crism”), is a collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA, along with ESA (the European Space Agency) 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. Cooled to a fraction of a degree above absolute zero, Resolve’s detector can measure the slight amount of heat generated when each pixel absorbs a single X-ray photon. Xtend will image a field of view about 60% larger than the apparent size of a full moon, giving it XRISM the widest view of any X-ray imaging satellite flown to date.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, developed the X-ray Mirror Assemblies used for both instruments, as well as the Resolve detector and many of its subsystems.
 

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Animation Credits

Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (KBR Wyle Services, LLC): Lead Animator
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Lead Technical Support
Francis Reddy (University of Maryland College Park): Writer
Brian J. Williams (NASA/GSFC): Lead scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab