The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced Monday that the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) — its joint mission with NASA — has transitioned to nominal operations.
XRISM Explore the hidden X-ray cosmos
XRISM is a space telescope that uses X-rays to probe distant stars. Although XRISM is not as sophisticated as the James Webb Telescope, it is a significant advance in X-ray astronomy – and because these rays have a shorter wavelength than the infrared light that Webb looks at, the Japanese scope gives us a different view of the universe.
The spacecraft is currently conducting an initial calibration and performance verification operation and will begin astronomical observations based on research proposals in August, JAXA announced on Monday.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is one of the organizations that will use XRISM, having secured eight percent of the observing time in exchange for providing hardware and scientific advice.
