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Goddard Space
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08/12/2009We´ve added the IXO Quick Reference Guide to our web siteRead more »07/31/2009The full list of all IXO Astro2010 Decadal submissions is available for downloadRead more »07/22/2009Presentations for the IXO Science Team Meeting held on July 3rd, 2009, at Otaru, Japan available for downloadRead more »06/29/2009The original written IXO response to the Astro2010´s four questions for IXO is available for downloadRead more »06/18/2009IXO Response to Astro2010´s RFI#1 is available for downloadRead more »06/15/2009IXO Science Team Meeting, July 3, 2009We will have our next big science team meeting on July 3, 2009 in Otaru, Japan, hosted by our JAXA colleagues. Read more »06/08/2009214th AAS meeting Sunday, 7 June 2009—Thursday, 11 June 2009, Pasadena, CAThe IXO Team is giving a requested presentation to the Astro2010 Program Prioritization Panel. Read more »06/01/2009Astro2010 March meeting agenda is available for downloadRead more »05/22/2009Joel Bregman´s science talk on IXO at the APS April meeting is now availableRead more »05/15/2009Check out our Recent Technology Milestones page for the HXI and HTRS updatesRead more »04/30/2009The IXO Team has submitted a Request For Information document to the Astro2010 Decadal Survey CommitteeRead more »04/02/2009View the IXO poster from the Irvine IMBH meetingRead more »03/27/2009A rich archive of previous Con-X and XEUS papers has been releasedWe list here the most relevant papers that document the evolution of Con-X and XEUS, and that thus represent IXO´s illustrious "pedigree." Read more »03/27/2009Decadal Survey Town Hall MeetingTo assist the National Research Council´s Decadal Survey Committee in gathering input and ideas from all segments of the astronomical community, the Space Telescope Science Institute and the Johns Hopkins University will host a Decadal Survey Town Hall meeting. Read more »03/24/2009New IXO spacecraft pictures are availableRead more »02/15/2009Astro2010 Decadal Review White Papers SubmittedThe Astro2010 Decadal Review has drawn enthusiastic participation from IXO supporters. Read more »02/11/2009IXO Science Team Meeting, July 3, 2009We will have our next big science team meeting July 3, 2009 in Otaru, Japan, hosted by our JAXA colleagues. This meeting follows the Suzaku conference in Otaru, Japan (June 29–July 2). Read more »02/11/2009IXO Science Team Meeting, January 2009More than 200 astronomers convened in Boston, MA, on January 28–29, 2009 at the IXO Team Meeting to discuss the IXO science and technology developments. Presentations by the Science Definition Team (SDT), the Instrument Working Group (IWG), the Telescope Working Group (IWG), and the ESA, JAXA, and NASA projects are posted to the web site. Read more »01/30/2009IXO Special Session at the January 2009 AAS MeetingMore than 40 posters, covering science and technology for the IXO mission, were presented at the January 2009 AAS meeting in Long Beach, CA. These posters have now been posted to the web site, please have a look!Read more »More news » |
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![]() The International X-ray Observatory (IXO) is a new X-ray telescope with joint participation from NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan´s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). This project supersedes both NASA´s Constellation-X and ESA´s XEUS mission concepts. In mid-2008, officials from ESA, NASA, and JAXA headquarters agreed to conduct a joint study of IXO with a single merged set of top-level science goals. This agreement established key science measurement requirements. The spacecraft configuration for the IXO study is a mission featuring a single large X-ray mirror and an extendible optical bench with a focal length of ~20m and a suite of five focal plane instruments. The X-ray instruments under study for the IXO concept include: a wide field imaging detector, a high-spectral-resolution imaging spectrometer (calorimeter), a hard X-ray imaging detector, a grating spectrometer, a high timing resolution spectrometer, nd a polarimeter. The IXO mission concept is being submitted to the U.S. Decadal Survey committee and to ESA´s Cosmic Vision process. IXO Astro2010 Decadal SubmissionsIXO Astro2010 Decadal RFI#1 |
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With IXO´s highthroughput, scientists will be able to study the high-energy Universe in more detail than ever before. The science objectives of IXO include:
Black Holes and Matter Under Extreme Conditions
Formation and Evolution of Galaxies, Clusters, and Large Scale Structure
Life Cycles of Matter and Energy
Read more about IXO science |
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IXO will be a satellite observatory that will launch on either an Atlas V or Arianne V rocket to an orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 point, 1.5 million km away. OpticsThe heart of the mission is the lightweight X-ray optical system. Achieving the 3 square meter collecting area with 5 arcsec angular resolution is the main technology driver. The IXO optics will consist of nested grazing-incidence mirrors to focus X-ray photons onto a detector plane. Two independent approaches to achieving the desired resolution — slumped glass and silicon pore optics — are clear and attainable in the near future. InstrumentationBehind the optics, the IXO instrument suite includes: a wide field imaging and a hard X-ray imaging detectors, a high-spectral-resolution imaging spectrometer (calorimeter), a grating spectrometer, a high timing resolution spectrometer, and a polarimeter. The focal plane instruments will deliver up to 100-fold increase in effective area for high resolution spectroscopy from 0.3–10 keV, deep spectral imaging from 0.2–40 keV over a wide field of view, unprecedented polarimetric sensitivity, and microsecond spectroscopic timing with high count rate capability. Read more about IXO technology drivers |
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IXO is being developed by an international collaboration that includes members appointed by ESA, JAXA, and NASA. Advisory GroupsSeveral key advisory groups of scientists and engineers are guiding the IXO development. A coordination group oversees the work of the science definition team, the telescope working group, and the instrument working group. IXO SupportersIn addition to these advisory groups, more than 200 scientists from over 60 institutions around the world are actively involved with IXO. Interested scientists can keep up to date on IXO developments by signing up for the 'ixo-supporters' email list. The IXO supporters provide help and input to the advisory groups listed above. Many of these supporters are members of previous Constellation-X and XEUS science and instrumentation teams. Read more |
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LaunchIXO is currently planned for launch in 2021. Studies to determine the launch vehicle, either the Ariane V or Atlas V rockets, are currently under way. Science OperationsIXO will be designed to operate for a minimum of 5 years, with a goal of 10 years, so IXO science operations are anticipated to last from 2021 to 2030. Decadal Survey/Cosmic VisionsDuring 2009, the IXO mission team is focusing on providing input to the National Research Council´s Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey committee (Astro2010) and the ESA Cosmic Vision process. Note that Constellation-X was ranked as the second space-based priority behind JWST in the 2000 Decadal Survey, and XEUS was selected as a finalist in ESA´s Cosmic Vision 2015–2025. IXO Astro2010 Decadal Submissions |