XMM-Newton
Mock-up of XMM-Newton at the Cité de l'espace, Toulouse
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| Names | High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission |
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| Mission type | X-ray astronomy | ||||||||
| Operator | European Space Agency | ||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 1999-066A | ||||||||
| SATCAT № | 25989 | ||||||||
| Website |
http://sci.esa.int/xmm-newton/ http://xmm.esac.esa.int/ |
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| Mission duration | Planned: 2 years Elapsed: 17 years, 1 month and 14 days |
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| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||
| Manufacturer | Dornier Satellitensysteme, Carl Zeiss, Media Lario, Matra Marconi Space, BPD Difesa e Spazio, Fokker Space | ||||||||
| Launch mass | 3,764 kg (8,298 lb) | ||||||||
| Dry mass | 3,234 kg (7,130 lb) | ||||||||
| Dimensions | Length: 10.8 m (35 ft) Span: 16.16 m (53 ft) |
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| Power | 1,600 watts | ||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||
| Launch date | 10 December 1999, 14:32 UTC | ||||||||
| Rocket | Ariane 5G No. 504 | ||||||||
| Launch site | Guiana Space Centre ELA-3 | ||||||||
| Contractor | Arianespace | ||||||||
| Entered service | 1 July 2000 | ||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||
| Reference system | Geocentric | ||||||||
| Semi-major axis | 65,648.3 km (40,792.0 mi) | ||||||||
| Eccentricity | 0.816585 | ||||||||
| Perigee | 5,662.7 km (3,518.6 mi) | ||||||||
| Apogee | 112,877.6 km (70,138.9 mi) | ||||||||
| Inclination | 67.1338 degrees | ||||||||
| Period | 2789.9 minutes | ||||||||
| Epoch | 4 February 2016, 01:06:30 UTC | ||||||||
| Main telescope | |||||||||
| Type | 3 × Wolter type-1 | ||||||||
| Diameter | Outer mirror: 70 cm (28 in) Inner mirror: 30.6 cm (12 in) |
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| Focal length | 7.5 m (25 ft) | ||||||||
| Collecting area | 4,425 cm2 (686 sq in) at 1.5 keV 1,740 cm2 (270 sq in) at 8 keV |
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| Wavelengths | 0.1–12 nm (0.1–12 keV) | ||||||||
| Resolution | 5 to 14 arcseconds | ||||||||
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| Instruments | |
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| EPIC | European Photon Imaging Camera |
| RGS | Reflection Grating Spectrometer |
| OM | Optical Monitor |
ESA astrophysics insignia for the XMM-Newton mission
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 for 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. Originally scheduled for a two-year mission, the spacecraft remains in good health and has received mission extensions through 2016. As of February 2016, more than 4,300 papers have been published about either XMM-Newton or the scientific results it has returned.
The observational scope of XMM-Newton includes the detection of X-ray emissions from astronomical objects, detailed studies of star-forming regions, investigation of the formation and evolution of galaxy clusters, the environment of supermassive black holes and mapping of the mysterious dark matter.
In 1982, even before the launch of XMM-Newton's predecessor EXOSAT in 1983, a proposal was generated for a "multi-mirror" X-ray telescope mission. The XMM mission was formally proposed to the ESA Science Programme Committee in 1984 and gained approval from the Agency's Council of Ministers in January 1985. That same year, several working groups were established to determine the feasibility of such a mission, and mission objectives were presented at a workshop in Denmark in June 1985. At this workshop, it was proposed that the spacecraft contain 12 low-energy and 7 high-energy X-ray telescopes. The spacecraft's overall configuration was developed by February 1987, and drew heavily from lessons learned during the EXOSAT mission; the Telescope Working Group had reduced the number of X-ray telescopes to seven standardised units. In June 1988 the European Space Agency approved the mission and issued a call for investigation proposals (an "announcement of opportunity"). Improvements in technology further reduced the number of X-ray telescopes needed to just three.
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