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Calibration and Performance of the REgolith X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) Aboard NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission to Bennu.
- Source :
- Space Science Reviews; Dec2021, Vol. 217 Issue 8, p1-30, 30p
- Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- The REgolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) instrument on board NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission to the asteroid Bennu is a Class-D student collaboration experiment designed to detect fluoresced X-rays from the asteroid's surface to measure elemental abundances. In July and November 2019 REXIS collected ∼615 hours of integrated exposure time of Bennu's sun-illuminated surface from terminator orbits. As reported in Hoak et al. (Results from the REgolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) at Bennu, 2021) the REXIS data do not contain a clear signal of X-ray fluorescence from the asteroid, in part due to the low incident solar X-ray flux during periods of observation. To support the evaluation of the upper limits on the detectable X-ray signal that may provide insights for the properties of Bennu's regolith, we present an overview of the REXIS instrument, its operation, and details of its in-flight calibration on astrophysical X-ray sources. This calibration includes the serendipitous detection of the transient X-ray binary MAXI J0637-430 during Bennu observations, demonstrating the operational success of REXIS at the asteroid. We convey some lessons learned for future X-ray spectroscopy imaging investigations of asteroid surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00386308
- Volume :
- 217
- Issue :
- 8
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Space Science Reviews
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 154097673
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-021-00853-4