February 01, 2024
India’s first X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on January 1. The XPoSat mission aims to examine the polarisation of X-rays emitted by various celestial bodies. The satellite was launched with the help of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket from Sriharikota’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre. It is the world’s second polarimetry mission, the first being the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) launched by the USA’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2021. XPoSat will help scientists study galaxies, black holes and neutron stars and will enhance their knowledge of physics and the universe’s origin.
