NEWS

NASA launched a new mission named Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer or IXPE.

ABOUT

• Onboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket
• Sent to its orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
• Joint effort of NASA and the Italian Space Agency
• Will study “the most extreme and mysterious objects in the universe – supernova remnants, supermassive black holes, and dozens of other high-energy objects.”
• Mission’s primary length is two years
• Observatory will be at 600 kilometers altitude, orbiting around Earth’s equator
• Expected to study about 40 celestial objects in its first year in space.