NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has been making headlines with its high-resolution infrared images taken from 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth. However, a new player in the space science game is turning heads with its groundbreaking approach using just 36 pixels.
The X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), a joint venture between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), has been orbiting the cosmos since its launch last September. Despite its modest 36-pixel image sensor, the mission’s imaging instrument, Resolve, is revolutionizing space science.
Brian Williams, NASA’s XRISM project scientist at Goddard, explained, “Resolve is more than a camera. Its detector takes the temperature of each X-ray that strikes it, allowing us to see the chemical fingerprints of elements in unprecedented detail.”
Equipped with the ability to detect “soft” X-rays with energies up to 5,000 times greater than visible light, Resolve focuses on exploring the hottest cosmic regions and massive celestial objects like supermassive black holes. Each pixel in Resolve can generate a rich spectrum of visual data covering an energy range from 400 to 12,000 electron volts.
One of the most exciting capabilities of Resolve is its ability to perceive the movements of elements within a target, offering a three-dimensional perspective. This opens up new avenues for scientific exploration, such as tracking the flow of hot gas in galaxy clusters and monitoring the movement of elements in supernova remnants.
Despite its limited pixel count, XRISM’s Resolve instrument is proving to be a game-changer in the world of space science, providing detailed insights into the mysteries of the universe with just 36 pixels.