Session
Session VII: Science Mission Payloads - Enterprise
Location
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Abstract
The interaction of the solar wind with the Earth is a subject of significant study. One phenomenon is the occurrence of aurorae at the polar regions, resulting from the interaction of particles in the solar wind with the atmosphere, often giving light shows which captures the publics’ imagination. These energetic interactions also extend to X-ray wavelengths. Whilst aurorae have been studied for generations in the visible, the X-ray emission of aurorae has only been observed by a couple of spacecraft, with a paucity of data. There are only a couple of instances of emission intensity having been measured, but without any spectral information.
The Auroral X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (AXIS) is an instrument concept which is being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Space Astronomy Group (URSC) with academic and industrial collaborators from the UK funded by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) as part of its International Bilateral Fund (IBF). The AXIS instrument aims to provide world-first measurements of spectral information from the Earth’s aurorae in the 0.3 – 3 keV band, enabling study of emission from the key sources: X-ray fluorescence from atmospheric elements, bremsstrahlung and solar wind charge exchange (SWCX). The urgency to develop this instrument results from a desire to perform simultaneous measurements studying the impact of the solar wind with the ESA-CAS mission SMILE. SMILE is due for launch from Kourou with a January-September 2026 launch window. The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) of SMILE will study the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth’s magnetosphere in the same soft X-ray band, and simultaneous observations from both high orbit (SMILE/SXI) and LEO (AXIS) would provide a unique dataset for scientific study. To achieve this timely simultaneous observation capability, ISRO’s IMS-1 platform (Indian Micro-Satellite), would be utilised which is a 100kg platform capable of supporting a 30kg instrument complement.
AXIS will have two X-ray pinhole cameras with a combined 140o FOV and provide a technology demonstration of new X-ray CMOS image sensor (CIS) technology being developed for ESAs Theseus mission concept, together with a new compact scientific camera drive system using the CubeSat standards. These new technologies will enable X-ray photon counting with spectroscopic information giving < 100 eV resolution at 1 keV, enabling separation of the emissions from the atmospheric elements; oxygen, nitrogen, etc. Uniquely, this new instrument concept will enable such X-ray photon counting and spectroscopy whilst operating at a temperature of around 0oC (compared to similar X-ray instruments requiring sensor cooling between -112oC (SMILE/SXI) to -130oC (XMM/EPIC). This step-change in performance is achieved using a combination of radiation hardness, low dark current and high frame rate of CIS, and will undoubtedly find many spin-off applications in other space instruments and missions.
We will describe the mission concept and it’s timeliness with SMILE, and outline the capabilities of the IMS-2, before giving detailed description of the AXIS instrument, its objectives and the key technologies being used to achieve its performance, together with test data from X-ray test (lab and synchrotron) and gamma and proton qualification.
Initially, the overall mission concept and previous results science results will be described, and how the mission concept aligns closely with ESA’s SMILE mission. The capabilities of the IMS-S launcher will be outlined, before a detailed description of the AXIS instrument is provided, along with its key scientific objectives and key technologies being used to achieve its performance. Finally, experimental test data and results acquired from laboratory and synchrotron testing will be shown.
Document Type
Event
The Auroral X-Ray Imager (AXIS)
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
The interaction of the solar wind with the Earth is a subject of significant study. One phenomenon is the occurrence of aurorae at the polar regions, resulting from the interaction of particles in the solar wind with the atmosphere, often giving light shows which captures the publics’ imagination. These energetic interactions also extend to X-ray wavelengths. Whilst aurorae have been studied for generations in the visible, the X-ray emission of aurorae has only been observed by a couple of spacecraft, with a paucity of data. There are only a couple of instances of emission intensity having been measured, but without any spectral information.
The Auroral X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (AXIS) is an instrument concept which is being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Space Astronomy Group (URSC) with academic and industrial collaborators from the UK funded by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) as part of its International Bilateral Fund (IBF). The AXIS instrument aims to provide world-first measurements of spectral information from the Earth’s aurorae in the 0.3 – 3 keV band, enabling study of emission from the key sources: X-ray fluorescence from atmospheric elements, bremsstrahlung and solar wind charge exchange (SWCX). The urgency to develop this instrument results from a desire to perform simultaneous measurements studying the impact of the solar wind with the ESA-CAS mission SMILE. SMILE is due for launch from Kourou with a January-September 2026 launch window. The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) of SMILE will study the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth’s magnetosphere in the same soft X-ray band, and simultaneous observations from both high orbit (SMILE/SXI) and LEO (AXIS) would provide a unique dataset for scientific study. To achieve this timely simultaneous observation capability, ISRO’s IMS-1 platform (Indian Micro-Satellite), would be utilised which is a 100kg platform capable of supporting a 30kg instrument complement.
AXIS will have two X-ray pinhole cameras with a combined 140o FOV and provide a technology demonstration of new X-ray CMOS image sensor (CIS) technology being developed for ESAs Theseus mission concept, together with a new compact scientific camera drive system using the CubeSat standards. These new technologies will enable X-ray photon counting with spectroscopic information giving < 100 eV resolution at 1 keV, enabling separation of the emissions from the atmospheric elements; oxygen, nitrogen, etc. Uniquely, this new instrument concept will enable such X-ray photon counting and spectroscopy whilst operating at a temperature of around 0oC (compared to similar X-ray instruments requiring sensor cooling between -112oC (SMILE/SXI) to -130oC (XMM/EPIC). This step-change in performance is achieved using a combination of radiation hardness, low dark current and high frame rate of CIS, and will undoubtedly find many spin-off applications in other space instruments and missions.
We will describe the mission concept and it’s timeliness with SMILE, and outline the capabilities of the IMS-2, before giving detailed description of the AXIS instrument, its objectives and the key technologies being used to achieve its performance, together with test data from X-ray test (lab and synchrotron) and gamma and proton qualification.
Initially, the overall mission concept and previous results science results will be described, and how the mission concept aligns closely with ESA’s SMILE mission. The capabilities of the IMS-S launcher will be outlined, before a detailed description of the AXIS instrument is provided, along with its key scientific objectives and key technologies being used to achieve its performance. Finally, experimental test data and results acquired from laboratory and synchrotron testing will be shown.
