X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPOSAT) Mission

• The Indian Space Research Organisation is collaborating with the Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru,an autonomous research institute, to build the X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) that is scheduled to be launched later in 2023.

ABOUT X-RAY POLARIMETER SATELLITE (XPOSAT)

• It is India’s first, and only the world’s second polarimetry mission that is meant to study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions.
• The other such major mission is NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) that was launched in 2021.
• XPoSat will carry two scientific payloads in a low earth orbit:
  • Primary payload POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays) will measure polarimetry parameters (degree and angle of polarisation) in energy range of 8-30 keV (kiloelectron volt).
    • This is first payload in medium X-ray energy band dedicated for polarimetry measurements.
  • XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing) payload will give spectroscopic information (on how light is absorbed and emitted by objects) in energy range of 0.8-15 keV.
    • It observes several types of sources viz, X-ray pulsars, Black-hole binaries, low-magnetic field neutron star