XMM-Newton

XMM-Newton
Artist's impression of the XMM-Newton spacecraft
NamesHigh Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission
X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission
Mission typeX-ray astronomy
OperatorEuropean Space Agency
COSPAR ID1999-066A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.25989
Websitehttp://sci.esa.int/xmm-newton/
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/
Mission durationPlanned: 10 years[1]
Elapsed: 24 years, 6 months
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerDornier Satellitensysteme, Carl Zeiss, Media Lario, Matra Marconi Space, BPD Difesa e Spazio, Fokker Space[2]
Launch mass3,764 kg (8,298 lb)[2]
Dry mass3,234 kg (7,130 lb)
DimensionsLength: 10.8 m (35 ft)[2]
Span: 16.16 m (53 ft)[2]
Power1,600 watts[2]
Start of mission
Launch date10 December 1999, 14:32 (1999-12-10UTC14:32) UTC[3]
RocketAriane 5G No. 504[4]
Launch siteGuiana Space Centre ELA-3[2][4]
ContractorArianespace
Entered service1 July 2000[2]
End of mission
Deactivatedpresumed end of 2026 or later[5]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
Semi-major axis65,648.3 km (40,792.0 mi)
Eccentricity0.816585
Perigee altitude5,662.7 km (3,518.6 mi)
Apogee altitude112,877.6 km (70,138.9 mi)
Inclination67.1338 degrees
Period2789.9 minutes
Epoch4 February 2016, 01:06:30 UTC[6]
Main telescope
Type3 × Wolter type-1[2]
DiameterOuter mirror: 70 cm (28 in)[2]
Inner mirror: 30.6 cm (12 in)[2]
Focal length7.5 m (25 ft)[2]
Collecting area0.4425 m2 (5 sq ft) at 1.5 keV[2]
0.1740 m2 (2 sq ft) at 8 keV[2]
Wavelengths0.1-12 keV (12-0.1 nm)[2]
Resolution5 to 14 arcseconds[2]
XMM-Newton mission insignia
ESA astrophysics insignia for XMM-Newton  
Animation of XMM-Newton's trajectory around Earth

XMM-Newton, also known as the High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission and the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission, is an X-ray space observatory launched by the European Space Agency in December 1999 on an Ariane 5 rocket. It is the second cornerstone mission of ESA's Horizon 2000 programme. Named after physicist and astronomer Sir Isaac Newton, the spacecraft is tasked with investigating interstellar X-ray sources, performing narrow- and broad-range spectroscopy, and performing the first simultaneous imaging of objects in both X-ray and optical (visible and ultraviolet) wavelengths.[7]

Initially funded for two years, with a ten-year design life, the spacecraft remains in good health and has received repeated mission extensions, most recently in March 2023 and is scheduled to operate until the end of 2026.[5] ESA plans to succeed XMM-Newton with the Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics (ATHENA), the second large mission in the Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 plan, to be launched in 2035.[8] XMM-Newton is similar to NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, also launched in 1999.

As of May 2018, close to 5,600 papers have been published about either XMM-Newton or the scientific results it has returned.[9]

  1. ^ "XMM-Newton factsheet". European Space Agency. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Wilson, Andrew (June 2005). "XMM-Newton" (PDF). ESA Achievements (3rd ed.). European Space Agency. pp. 206–209. ISBN 92-9092-493-4. ESA Publication BR-250.
  3. ^ "A Faultless Launch". European Space Agency. 10 December 1999. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Ariane-5". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Extended life for ESA's science missions". ESA. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  6. ^ "XMM - Orbit". Heavens Above. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  7. ^ "XMM-Newton: Objectives". European Space Agency. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Athena Mission Summary". European Space Agency. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  9. ^ Kretschmar, Peter (2018). XMM-Newton Overall Mission Status (PDF). XMM-Newton Users' Group Meeting #19. 17–18 May 2018. Villafranca del Castillo, Spain.

© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search