IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer)

IXPE Operations Update

March 26, 2024 NeRD

1 min read IXPE Operations Update On March 23, NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) stopped transmitting valid telemetry data. The only previous interruption of IXPE science observations was due to a similar issue in June of 2023. On March 26, using procedures developed following that previous interruption, the team initiated a spacecraft avionics reset to address the issue, which put IXPE into a planned safe mode. The team has confirmed that IXPE is once again transmitting valid telemetry data and is now working to resume science operations, in as…

NASA’s IXPE Awarded Prestigious Prize in High-energy Astronomy

January 23, 2024 NeRD

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) An artist’s illustration of the IXPE spacecraft in orbit, studying high-energy phenomena light-years from Earth NASA NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) team has been awarded a top prize in high-energy astronomy. The High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) has awarded the 2024 Bruno Rossi Prize to retired NASA astrophysicist Martin Weisskopf, Italian Space Agency principal investigator Paolo Soffitta, and their team for development of IXPE, “whose novel measurements advance our understanding of particle acceleration…