{"id":140997,"date":"2022-09-23T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-482962"},"modified":"2023-07-26T16:41:21","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T20:41:21","slug":"high-precision-x-ray-instrument-will-make-its-first-trip-to-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/technology\/science-instruments\/high-precision-x-ray-instrument-will-make-its-first-trip-to-space\/","title":{"rendered":"High-Precision X-Ray Instrument Will Make Its First Trip to Space"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>UPDATE Sep. 26, 2022<\/strong> \u2013 The Rocket for Extended-source X-ray Spectroscopy, or tREXS, mission was launched at 12:10 a.m. EDT, Sep. 26, 2022 (10:10 p.m. MDT, Sep. 25) from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The Black Brant IX suborbital sounding rocket carried the tREXS payload to an altitude of 156 miles (252.2 kilometers) before descending by parachute. Recovery operations are in progress. The science team is awaiting payload recovery to determine the experiment\u2019s performance and analyze data.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"A rocket standing vertically inside of a warehouse as men in hard hats work on it.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg 4032w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?resize=2048,1536 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?resize=400,300 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?resize=600,450 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?resize=900,675 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?resize=1200,900 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?resize=2000,1500 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">The rocket carrying tREXS undergoing its final preparations before flight. <strong>Credits: NASA<\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>A new X-ray instrument will scan an exploded star while testing technology for future NASA missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The instrument, called the Rockets for Extended-Source X-ray Spectroscopy, or tREXS, is taking its first flight aboard a NASA sounding rocket. Once in space, it will set its sights on the remains of a star that erupted some 5,000 years ago, uncovering new details about the elements it left behind. The tREXS mission is set to launch from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico at 9:30 p.m. MDT on Sept. 25, 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>X-rays are light that is too energetic for us to see \u2013 but they are everywhere in space. They flash during solar flares, our Sun\u2019s most powerful eruptions. They radiate from distant supernovae, or explosive stellar deaths. In fact, the entire night sky glows with X-rays emitted by the hot gases surrounding our solar system and neighboring stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These X-rays hold many secrets about our universe, but teasing that information out takes specialized tools. Like visible light, X-rays come in a range of wavelengths, or colors, and each wavelength tells its own story. To uncover that story, scientists split X-ray light into its spectrum, or component wavelengths. As an X-ray spectrometer, that\u2019s exactly what tREXS is designed to do. But it has two special features that set it apart from other spectrometers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First is its precision. When light enters a spectrometer, it bounces off a diffraction grating. The diffraction grating is what splits the light apart: different wavelengths bounce off at slightly different angles, spreading out into a spectrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The gratings on tREXS were built molecule-by-molecule in a nanofabrication lab at the Pennsylvania State University in University Park. These gratings can separate wavelengths extremely precisely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe gratings are kind of our pride and joy,\u201d said Dr. Randall L. McEntaffer. McEntaffer is a professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State and the principal investigator for tREXS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, tREXS uses a new technique, which McEntaffer playfully calls their \u201clight bucket.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most spectrometers capture light through a narrow slit. This slit allows a \u201cbar\u201d of light to shine onto the diffraction grating. The diffraction grating spreads that bar out into a rainbow-like spectrum.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"Central light beam and a rainbow series of beams to its left and right against a black background.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg 3840w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg?resize=2048,1152 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg?resize=400,225 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg?resize=900,506 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg?resize=1200,675 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/g2011-003_after_school_universe_how-to.fcp-media_03_spectrum_thick.jpg?resize=2000,1125 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Still image of the view from within a visible-light spectrometer. In the center, a bar of light is emitted through a slit. That bar of light is passed through a diffraction grating (not pictured), which spreads the light out into its spectrum. The spectrum appears to the left and right of the center bar of light, splitting the center bar into the distinct wavelengths present in the initial light source. <strong>Credits: NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>A narrow slit gives the instrument higher resolution, but it limits the light that gets through. That\u2019s a problem if you want to study faint sources of X-rays that are not a single point on the sky but are extended, or diffuse, which McEntaffer does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The trick tREXS employs is to use 250 distinct slits. Each slit captures light from adjacent parts of the sky, but they focus them all to the same narrow bar of light. This combined light \u2013 which McEntaffer refers to as their \u201clight bucket\u201d \u2013 keeps many advantages of a narrow-slit design. But it gives them much more light to work with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYour sensitivity depends on how much light you collect,\u201d McEntaffer said. \u201cSo we collect more light by making a larger light bucket and covering much more area on the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the upcoming flight, tREXS will launch on a sounding rocket, which make brief trips to space before falling back to Earth some 20-30 minutes later. Once above the atmosphere, tREXS will set its sights on the Cygnus Loop, a supernova remnant and source of diffuse X-rays in the constellation Cygnus. They will have about 4 minutes and 40 seconds of observing time before descending back to Earth for recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1041\" height=\"1041\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg?w=1041\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"image of plumes of gas and dust in blue coloring against the night sky.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg 1041w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg?resize=50,50 50w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg?resize=200,200 200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg?resize=600,600 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/633189main_pia15415-full_full.jpg?resize=900,900 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1041px) 100vw, 1041px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Wispy tendrils of hot dust and gas glow brightly in this ultraviolet image of the Cygnus Loop nebula, taken by NASA\u2019s Galaxy Evolution Explorer. The nebula lies about 1,500 light-years away and is a supernova remnant, left over from a massive stellar explosion that occurred between 5,000 to 8,000 years ago. The Cygnus Loop extends over three times the size of the full moon in the night sky and is tucked next to one of the \u201cswan\u2019s wings\u201d in the constellation of Cygnus. <strong>Credits: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>With a successful flight, the team hopes to adapt the instrument to later study the diffuse X-ray background. This ambient X-ray light illuminates the entire night sky. It emanates from the Local Bubble, the low-density region of our galaxy home to our Sun and nearest stellar neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI mean we\u2019re living in a bubble of hot gas, and we really don\u2019t understand its characteristics,\u201d McEntaffer said. \u201cThat\u2019s the ultimate goal \u2013 but we\u2019re doing interesting science on the way to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McEntaffer\u2019s group at Penn State designed, fabricated, and prepared tREXS for flight, with major contributions from James Tutt, Drew Miles, and Ross McCurdy. NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/soundingrockets\" rel=\"noopener\">Sounding Rocket Program<\/a> is conducted at the agency\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers\/wallops\/home\" rel=\"noopener\">Wallops Flight Facility<\/a> at Wallops Island, Virginia, which is managed by NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/goddard\" rel=\"noopener\">Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a> in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/sunearth\" rel=\"noopener\">Heliophysics Division<\/a> manages the sounding rocket program for the agency. The development of the tREXS payload was supported by NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/topics\/solarsystem\/index.html\" rel=\"noopener\">Astrophysics Division<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UPDATE Sep. 26, 2022 \u2013 The Rocket for Extended-source X-ray Spectroscopy, or tREXS, mission was launched at 12:10 a.m. EDT, Sep. 26, 2022 (10:10 p.m. MDT, Sep. 25) from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The Black Brant IX suborbital sounding rocket carried the tREXS payload to an altitude of 156 miles (252.2 kilometers) before descending [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":145886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2831,3805,2872],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[4035],"coauthors":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"High-Precision X-Ray Instrument Will Make Its First Trip to Space","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/technology\/science-instruments\/high-precision-x-ray-instrument-will-make-its-first-trip-to-space\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/technology\/science-instruments\/high-precision-x-ray-instrument-will-make-its-first-trip-to-space\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg"},"articleSection":"Technology","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Miles Hatfield"}],"creator":["Miles Hatfield"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["NASA Centers & Facilities","Wallops Flight Facility","Science Instruments","Sounding Rockets Program"],"dateCreated":"2022-09-23T20:00:00Z","datePublished":"2022-09-23T20:00:00Z","dateModified":"2023-07-26T20:41:21Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"High-Precision X-Ray Instrument Will Make Its First Trip to Space\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/technology\/science-instruments\/high-precision-x-ray-instrument-will-make-its-first-trip-to-space\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2022-09-23T20:00:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"Technology\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"NASA Centers & Facilities,Wallops Flight Facility,Science Instruments,Sounding Rockets Program\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Miles Hatfield\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":5,"time_ago":"2 years","featured_image":{"id":145886,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/36367mcentaffer.jpeg","title":"36367mcentaffer","alt":"A rocket standing vertically inside of a warehouse as men in hard hats work on it.","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140997"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140997"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":214445,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140997\/revisions\/214445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140997"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=140997"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=140997"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=140997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}