XPoSat – POLIX and XSPECT

India is set to launch XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite), its dedicated polarimetry mission to study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions.

Launch vehicle – Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
Mission life – Approximately 5 years.
Objective – To study of temporal, spectral, and polarization features of the bright X-Ray sources.
2 scientific payloads – POLIX and XSPECT.
Orbit – The payloads are carried to the low earth orbit (non-sun synchronous orbit of ~650 km altitude, low inclination of approximately 6 degree).

POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays)

It is the primary payload to measure polarimetry parameters.
Developed by – The Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru, with support from various ISRO centres.
Objective – To specifically measure the degree and angle of polarization in the medium X-ray energy range of 8-30 keV photons originating from astronomical sources.

POLIX is the 1^st payload in the medium X-ray energy band dedicated for polarimetry measurements.

It is made of a collimator, a scatterer and 4 X-ray proportional counter detectors that surrounds the scatterer.
Scatterer – It is made of low atomic mass material which causes anisotropic Thomson scattering of incoming polarised X-rays.
Collimator – It restricts the field of view to 3 degree x 3 degree so as to have only 1 bright source in the field of view.
It is expected to observer about 40 bright astronomical sources of different categories.

XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing)

Developed by – The U.R. Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), ISRO.
Objective – To do long-term spectral and temporal studies of cosmic X-Ray sources in the energy band of 0.8-15 keV.
Passive collimators – They are used to reduce the background by narrowing the field of view of XSPECT.
It would observe several types of sources viz X-ray pulsars, black hole binaries, low-magnetic field neutron star (NS) in LMXBs, AGNs and Magnetars.

Source:

Join Our Telegram

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)

Voice over 5G (Vo5G/ VoNR) AND Volte

Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana

06 Feb, 24
SHARE

Recently, Prime Minister announced Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana under which 1 crore households will get rooftop solar power systems. India’s Status of Current Solar Capacity India currently stands at 4th place globally in solar power capacity. As per Ministry of New an

Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)- NGO

06 Feb, 24
SHARE

The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA) registration of two prominent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) — Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and World Vision India (WVI) have been cancelled this month. What is FCRA? Key provisions of FCRA, 2010 Key aspects Description

Voice clone-AI

06 Feb, 24
SHARE

Voice clone fraud has been on the rise in India. AI voice cloning – It is the process of creating a synthetic replica of a person’s voice through machine learning and speech synthesis technology.It is called as voice deepfakesor audio deepfakes. Objective – To achieve a high level of na

Science communication- how to promote

06 Feb, 24
SHARE

Steps taken by India to promote Science Communication Publications and Information Directorate (PID) - An organisation under Council of Science and Industrial Research (CSIR) established in 1951 for publishing and disseminating scientific information in India. National science magazines- The PI

Universal Basic Income (UBI)- Analysis

05 Feb, 24
SHARE

Universal Basic Income (UBI) can strengthen welfare architecture and unlock the nation’s latent demographic potential. UBI - It is an income support mechanism typically intended to reach all or a very large portion of the population regardless of their earnings or employment status. Objective- To provide enough to co