We carry 200 million pixel cameras in our mobile phones, but all NASA needs to solve the secrets of deep space is a 36 pixel sensor. NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have developed a groundbreaking X-ray imaging chip called Resolve for the XRISM satellite. Despite its low resolution, this particular sensor looks set to revolutionize the examination of distant X-ray signals.
Launched into space in September 2023 XRISM Resolve, the main observation tool of the satellite, has a 6×6 pixel array. Each pixel acts as a “microcalorimeter spectrometer” sensitive enough to measure the temperature of the universe. In this way, it becomes possible to determine the composition of the object emitting energy and its movement in space by analyzing the X-ray spectrum.
While NASA emphasizes that even a single pixel with this functionality is important, Resolve’s 36 pixels are used to detect supermassive black holes, supernova remnants and overheated galaxy clusters. ÅŸ gas clouds He states that unprecedented information can be obtained about objects such as.
In order for Resolve to make precise measurements, it must limit interference from all other heat sources. To this end, engineers at the Goddard Space Flight Center developed six ultra-high temperatures that reduced the chip’s temperature to just a few degrees above absolute zero, or 50 microkelvins. a shamanic one designed the cooling system.
While the first data from XRISM and Resolve are already generating excitement, the mission will continue for the next two and a half years. NASA believes that work with XRISM could lead to the development of larger sensor arrays with hundreds or thousands of microcalorimeter pixels.
Resolve’s ability to observe low-energy X-rays was restricted because a protective shutter in XRISM could not be opened. Nevertheless, this is considered a significant improvement compared to the Hitomi satellite, which used a similar device and ended in failure.
