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Program archive

JAXA Space Astronomy Program

JAXA Space Astronomy Program is explored here through 3 archived missions, from Suzaku through Hitomi, with the program’s spacecraft, people, milestones, and source-backed history connected along the way.

Missions: 3
People: 0
Vehicles: 3

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Choose a path through the JAXA Space Astronomy Program archive.

Currently viewing · Science & Payloads

OverviewStory and scope Missions3 records Science & PayloadsScience and payloads Spacecraft3 spacecraft TimelineProgram chronology PhotosMission imagery

JAXA Space Astronomy Program science and payloads

The instruments, experiments, destinations, and scientific purpose connected to each robotic mission.

Broad-band X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy observatorySuzaku570-kilometer circular low Earth orbit

X-ray Telescope array: Four grazing-incidence optics focus soft X-rays onto focal-plane instruments
X-ray Imaging Spectrometers: CCD cameras provide imaging spectroscopy across the soft X-ray band
Hard X-ray Detector: Silicon and scintillator sensors extend non-imaging coverage toward gamma-ray energies

Open science record →Cryogenic infrared survey observatoryAKARIApproximately 700-kilometer polar Earth orbit

68.5-centimeter cryogenic telescope: A cooled optical system suppresses thermal glow for sensitive infrared observations
Far-Infrared Surveyor: Detector arrays scan the sky in four bands from 50 to 180 micrometers
Infrared Camera: Three channels image and obtain spectra from near- to mid-infrared wavelengths

Open science record →High-resolution X-ray and soft gamma-ray observatoryHitomiApproximately 575-kilometer circular low Earth orbit

Soft X-ray Spectrometer: A 50-millikelvin microcalorimeter delivers exceptionally fine X-ray energy resolution
Soft X-ray Imager: A wide-field CCD camera images lower-energy X-ray sources
Hard X-ray Imagers: Focusing telescopes and detectors extend imaging to higher X-ray energies

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