XPoSat is India's first polarimetry mission, developed in collaboration between Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Raman Research Institute (RRI) (an autonomous research institute), to be launched later this year.

1. XPoSat, India's First Polarimetry Mission
29.05.2023
XPoSat, India's First Polarimetry Mission , RACE IAS : Best IAS Coaching in
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In News:
• XPoSat is India's first polarimetry mission, developed in collaboration between Indian
Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Raman Research Institute (RRI) (an
autonomous research institute), to be launched later this year.
Key Points:
• Recently, ISRO Chairman S Somnath urged Indian scientific institutions to take
steps to identify bright students and motivate them to effectively use the data
obtained from science-based space missions. He mentioned XPoSat in this regard.
• According to ISRO, "XPoSat will study the various dynamics of bright astronomical
X-ray sources under extreme conditions" and will carry two payloads.
• The Indian Space Research Organization is collaborating with the Raman Research
Institute (RRI), Bengaluru, an autonomous research institute, to build the X-ray
Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat), which is to be launched later this year.
What is XPoSat mission?
• According to ISRO, "XPoSat will study the various dynamics of bright astronomical
X-ray sources under extreme conditions."
• Touted to be India's first and world's second polarimetry mission, it aims to study the
different dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources under extreme conditions.
• Another such major mission is NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE),
scheduled for launch in 2021.
• "IXPE consists of three state-of-the-art space telescopes. Each of the three identical
telescopes consists of a lightweight X-ray mirror and a detector unit.
• These will help in observing polarized X-rays from neutron stars and supermassive
black holes. By measuring the polarization of these X-rays, we can study where the
light came from and understand the geometry and inner workings of the light source.

2. How are X-rays seen in space?
• According to NASA, X-rays have very high energies and very short wavelengths
between 0.03 and 3 nanometers, so short that some X-rays are no larger than a
single atom of many elements. The physical temperature of an object determines the
wavelength of the radiation it emits. The hotter the object, the shorter the wavelength
of the peak emission.
• X-rays are a type of electromagnetic radiation that have higher energies and shorter
wavelengths than visible light. The X-rays come from objects millions of degrees
Celsius – such as pulsars, galactic supernova remnants and black holes.
• Like all forms of light, X-rays consist of moving electric and magnetic waves.
Typically, the peaks and valleys of these waves move in random directions.
Polarized light is more organized with the two types of waves vibrating in the same
direction," says a NASA video on IXPE. It states that fishermen use polarized lenses
to reduce glare from sunlight when near the water.
• According to Britannica, the field of polarimetry is the study of the measurement of
the angle of rotation of the plane of polarized light (that is, a beam of light in which
the oscillations of electromagnetic waves are confined to a plane) which results in its
passage through some transparent material.
• According to information from the ISRO website, the emission mechanism from
various astrophysical sources such as black holes, neutron stars, active galactic
nuclei, pulsar wind nebulae etc. results from complex physical processes and is
challenging to understand.
• Space based observatories are also unable to provide information about the exact
nature of emissions from such sources. Therefore, new instruments can measure
specific properties.
What are the payloads of XPoSat?
• The spacecraft will carry two scientific payloads in low earth orbit. The primary
payload POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays) will measure polarimetry
parameters (degree and angle of polarization).
• The payload is being developed by RRI in collaboration with ISRO's UR Rao
Satellite Center (URSC) in Bengaluru. POLIX is expected to observe approximately
40 bright celestial sources of various categories during the XPoSat mission's
planned lifetime of approximately 5 years. It is the first payload in the medium X-ray
energy band dedicated to polarimetry measurements.
• The XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing) payload will give spectroscopic
information (how light is absorbed and emitted by objects). It will observe a wide
variety of sources, such as X-ray pulsars, blackhole binaries, low magnetic field
neutron stars, etc.
Other Upcoming Missions of ISRO:
Aditya-L1:

3. • It is India's first dedicated solar observatory mission which will start functioning in
June-July 2023
Chandrayaan-3:
• It is a follow-up mission to Chandrayaan-2, which will launch in June 2023.
Shukrayan-1:
• This is India's first orbiter mission to Venus.
Gaganyaan Mission:
• It is a manned space mission, which will place astronauts in a 400 km orbit.
Nisar:
• It is a joint Earth-observation mission between ISRO and NASA, which will provide
information related to global environmental change.
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