New Delhi

ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) is on a roll following its Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1 missions, the space agency is gearing up for a new year surprise. On January 1, 2024, when the world will be welcoming the new year, ISRO scientists will launch XPoSat. It is India's first polarimetry mission. XPoSAT will take a look at black holes, and other astronomical sources of X-rays.

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It is slated for a lift-off at 9:10 am on January 1, 2024. After this, the XPoSAT will be placed in low earth orbit (LEO). As per reports, India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will take the XPoSAT up into the sky.

XPoSat has two scientific payloads with it. The primary payload is POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays). It will measure polarimetry parameters. These are degree and angle of polarization. The measurements will be made in medium X-ray energy range of 8-30 keV.

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The second payload is XSPECT (X-Ray Spectroscopy and Timing). ISRO says this will give spectroscopic information within the energy range of 0.8-15 keV.

"The emission mechanism from various astronomical sources such as blackhole, neutron stars, active galactic nuclei, pulsar wind nebulae etc. originates from complex physical processes and are challenging to understand. While the spectroscopic and timing information by various space-based observatories provide a wealth of information, the exact nature of the emission from such sources still poses deeper challenges to astronomers," says ISRO.

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The polarimetric measurements made by the XPoSAT will bring more dimensions into play. These are the degree of polarisation and angle of polarisation. Measurements on these lines will be great help to understand the emission processes in space.

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Meanwhile, ISRO has made an analysis software that can be used to make Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of structures like satellites, rockets, aircraft, buildings etc.

"The FEAST software tool is the result of decades-long efforts by generations of scientists and engineers at ISRO's lead centre VSCC, Thiruvananthapuram. We started building this tool for our own internal use and developed considerable expertise in this field. That's when we decided to ensure that our software be shared with the larger FEA user base within India" Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, VSSC, ISRO, told WION.

(With inputs from Siddharth MP)