XRISM X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission │ JAXA

Project

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Mission of XRISM

XRISM was launched on September 7, 2023, and marked its first anniversary in September 2024. Since the early stages of the project, the XRISM team has worked diligently to prepare for operations in orbit. As a result, both spacecraft and science operations have been successfully conducted over the past year. Looking ahead, we begin the scientific general observer program based on proposals from researchers worldwide. We will maintain the excellent performance of our scientific instruments and strive for steady and reliable operations so that even more scientific results will be produced by even more researchers.

XRISM
Project Manager (JAXA)

Shin WATANABE, Ph. D.

Opening a new doorway in X-ray Astronomy

Among all branches of astronomy dating back thousands of years, X-ray astronomy is a relatively new field with less than 60 years of research. However, despite such a short history, X-ray astronomy has observed black holes and neutron stars and detected the hot plasma in between galaxies. It is a field which continues to provide new images of the universe, as well as new observational techniques to reveal new information about the universe. The Resolve instrument (X-ray spectrometer) to be included in XRISM is the latest instrument to open up a new era of history. Learning from the sucesses and failures of ASTRO-H, XRISM will open a new doorway for the X-ray astronomy world.

XRISM
Mission Principal Investigator (JAXA)

Makoto S. Tashiro, Ph. D., professor

Development Plan

The project is progressing to open up a new world of high resolution X-ray spectroscopy in the early 2020s.

2017
project study
2018
start project, basic design/ detailed design
2019
detailed design/ production and test of instruments/ spacecraft assembly
2020
spacecraft assembly/ proto flight test
2022
proto flight test/ launch campaign
2023
Lift-off
X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/J.DePasquale; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Optical: NASA/STScI

List of participating institutions

XRISM was developed under an international collaboration of JAXA, NASA, and ESA. With NASA’s close cooperation, this project has advanced as a joint project. In addition to the three space agencies, more than 100 astrophysicists and experts from universities and research institutes from Japan, the United States, and Europe have joined to contribute to the satellite development, development of observation instruments and data processing software, and to further formulate the scientific observing plan.

  • JAXA(Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)
  • NASA(National Aeronautics and Space Agency)
  • ESA(European Space Agency)
  • Tokyo Metropolitan University
  • Kanazawa University
  • Kanto Gakuin University
  • University of Miyazaki
  • Saitama University
  • Neitherlands Institute for Space Research
  • University of Geneva
  • Canadian Space Agency
  • Gravitation AstroParticle Physics Amsterdam
  • Canadian Light Source Inc.
  • University of Chicago
  • Chuo University
  • University of Durham
  • Ehime University
  • European Sauther Observatory
  • Fujita Health University
  • Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
  • Hiroshima University
  • Kindai University
  • KONAN University
  • Kwansei Gakuin University
  • Kyoto University
  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • Leiden University
  • University of Maryland
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • University of Michigan
  • Nagoya University
  • Nara University of Education
  • Nara Women’s University
  • Nihon Fukushi University
  • Osaka University
  • RIKEN
  • Rikkyo University
  • Saint Mary’s University
  • Shibaura Institute of Technology
  • Shizuoka University
  • Tohoku Gakuin University
  • University of Tokyo
  • Tokyo University of Science
  • Waseda University
  • University of Waterloo
  • University of Wisconsin
  • Yale University

Member

Development team and leaders

Hironori Maejima
Project Manager
ISAS/JAXA
Makoto S. Tashiro
Principal Investigator
ISAS/JAXA, Saitama University
Kenichi Toda
Project Engineer
ISAS/JAXA
Kyoko Matsushita
Project Scientist
Tokyo University of Science
Hiroya Yamaguchi
deputy Project Scientist
ISAS/JAXA
Lillian Reichenthal
Project Manager
NASA/GSFC
Richard Kelley
co-PI
NASA/GSFC
Leslie Hartz
Mission Systems Engineer
NASA/GSFC
Robert Petre
Mission Scientist
NASA/GSFC
Brian Williams
Project Scientist
NASA/GSFC
Matteo Guainazzi
Project Scientist
ESA
Elisa Costantini
deputy Project Scientist
SRON

Resolve

Yoh Takei
Instrument Manager (JAXA)
ISAS/JAXA
Yoshitaka Ishisaki
Instrument PI (JAXA)
Tokyo Metropolitan University
Ryuichi Fujimoto
Instrument sub-PI (JAXA)
Kanazawa University
Joy Henegar-Leon
Instrument Manager (NASA)
NASA/GSFC
Richard Kelley
Instrument PI (NASA)
NASA/GSFC
Gary Sneiderman
Lead Instrument Systems Engineer (NASA)
NASA/GSFC

Xtend

Hiroshi Tomida
Instrument Manager
ISAS/JAXA
Koji Mori
Instrument PI
Miyazaki University
Hiroshi Nakajima
Instrumet deputy-PI
Kanto Gakuin University
Kiyoshi Hayashida
Former Instrument PI
(Osaka University)

Science/Mission Operations

Yukikatsu Terada
Science Operation Center Lead (JAXA)
Saitama University
Matt Holland
Science Data Center Lead (NASA)
NASA/GSFC
Shin Watanabe
Mission Operations Lead
ISAS/JAXA

In Flight Calibration Planning

Eric Miller
Lead
MIT
Makoto Sawada
co-Lead (NASA)
Rikkyo University

Laboratory Astrophysics

Timothy Kallman
Chair
NASA/GSFC
Jelle Kaastra
Vice Chair
SRON

Science target category

Chris Done
Galactic Compact chair
Durham University
Teruaki Enoto
Galactic Compact co-chair
Kyoto University
Aya Bamba
Galactic Diffuse chair
University of Tokyo
Lia Corrales
Galactic Diffuse co-chair
University of Michigan
Yoshihiro Ueda
Extra-Galactic Compact chair
Kyoto University
Erin Kara
Extra-Galactic Compact co-chair
MIT
Irina Zhuravleva
Extra-Galactic Diffuse chair
University of Chicago
Yutaka Fujita
Extra-Galactic Diffuse co-chair
Tokyo Metropolitan University

(As of June 2023)

Science Member

Link to Science Members’ List

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