Science and Space

space and astronomy articles.

Ongoing Space Missions(5)

(This is the fifth  part of the series "Ongoing Space Missions" in which I will try to inform the readers all about the spacecrafts still travelling or operating beyond near-earth orbit)

XMM-Newton

Launched     10 Dec 1999

The objective -

Placed in orbit around the Earth where the atmosphere cannot block celestial X-rays, the XMM-Newton space observatory studies some of the most violent space phenomena. Since its launch in 1999, the spacecraft has helped scientists to investigate a number of mysterious cosmic phenomena, such as:

                    · the evolution of the Universe itself by looking back to its origin.

Mission Basics-

XMM-Newton spacecraft was placed into a 48-hour elliptical orbit around the Earth. Inclined at 40o with a Southern apogee at 114 000 km, the perigee altitude is 7000 km.

Many celestial objects generate X-rays in extremely violent processes. But Earth’s atmosphere blocks out these X-rays. Only by placing X-ray detectors like XMM-Newtonin in space can such sources be detected, pinpointed and studied in detail.

XMM-Newton carries three very advanced X-ray telescopes. They each contain 58 high-precision concentric mirrors, delicately nested to offer the largest collecting area possible to catch the elusive X-rays. These Mirror Modules allow XMM-Newton to detect millions of sources, far more than any previous X-ray mission.

Mission Cost- 689 million Euros. This included the spacecraft design and development, the launch and the ground operations during the first two years.

End of Mission    until at least March 2006

posted by: kyawoo at 05:44 | link | comments (1) |

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