ISRO will launch its first polarimetry mission, X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat), likely on January 1.
It will become the country’s third space-based observatory after the recently launched solar mission Aditya-L1 and Astrosat, launched in 2015.
The mission aims to study the “polarization” of astronomical X-rays, which could provide insight into the processes that result in their emission.
It is a method of studying astronomical phenomena in which, in addition to imaging them, fluctuations in light from a source and the energy emitted by celestial bodies are studied.
The observatory can help understand emission mechanisms from sources such as black holes and neutron stars (the collapsed core of a giant star).
The planned duration of the mission is five years.
It will carry two payloads–POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays) and XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing)– in a low earth orbit.
POLIX is designed to make observations in the 8–30 keV.
According to ISRO, it is expected to observe about 40 bright astronomical sources of various ranges during the planned lifetime.
XSPECT uses a method of observation called spectroscopy, which studies the electromagnetic spectrum produced by various substances.
In 2021, the US space agency NASA had launched its polarimetry satellite Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE).
