Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) [India]: Scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) — Amit Kumar Patra, Victor Joseph, Yashoda, and Srinivas — visited Tirumala Sri Venkateswara temple on Sunday morning, just ahead of the launch of the PSLV-C58/XPOSAT mission.
The mission is scheduled at 09:10 IST on Monday, the first day of the new calendar year 2024, at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite) is the first dedicated scientific satellite from ISRO to carry out research in space-based polarisation measurements of X-ray emission from celestial sources.
The objectives of this to-be-launched mission are to measure polarisation of X-rays in the energy band 8-30keV emanating from about 50 potential cosmic sources through Thomson Scattering by POLIX payload; to carry out long term spectral and temporal studies of cosmic X-ray sources in the energy band 0.8-15keV by XSPECT payload; and to carry out polarisation and spectroscopic measurements of X-ray emissions from cosmic sources by POLIX and XSPECT payloads respectively, in the common energy band.
The module houses 10 identified payloads, supplied by ISRO and IN-SPACe.
The scientific goals of the mission are to study the distribution of magnetic field, geometric anisotropies, alignment with respect to the line of sight, nature of accelerator in galactic cosmic X-Ray sources by measuring degree of polarization and its angle; structure and geometry of magnetic field of neutron stars, mechanism of X-Ray beaming and its relation with luminosity and mass of accretion rate of powered pulsars; detailed understanding of galactic black hole binary sources; among others.
In a stellar display of prowess, India soared to new heights in 2023 with the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the south pole of moon and the launch of Aditya-L1, India’s first solar mission.
These milestones not only secured India’s standing in the global space economy but also fueled the engines for the private space sector in India.
