IXPE

Mission Profile

IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) is a NASA/Italian Space Agency X-ray astronomy satellite launched on 9 December 2021 aboard a Falcon 9 to a low-inclination orbit, designed to measure the polarization of X-rays from cosmic sources for the first time since OSO-8 in the 1970s. Its three identical X-ray Mirror Assemblies focus X-rays onto photoelectric polarization detectors from ASI, enabling simultaneous spectral, timing, and polarization measurements of high-energy astrophysical phenomena. IXPE has made landmark measurements of the polarization of X-rays from pulsar wind nebulae, magnetars, active galactic nuclei, and X-ray binaries, revealing the magnetic field geometries and emission mechanisms of some of the universe's most extreme environments. The mission has pioneered a new observational parameter for X-ray astronomy, opening a novel dimension of astrophysical investigation.