The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) is an earth-orbiting X-ray observatory developed jointly by JAXA, NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency. Its prime camera, Resolve, provides non-dispersive spectroscopy with approximately 5 eV energy resolution in the 0.3-12 keV bandpass. XRISM is the successor to Hitomi, which yielded an unprecedented study of the dynamics of the X-ray atmosphere of the Perseus cluster. XRISM will study the X-ray atmospheres of galaxy clusters, young stars, and the gaseous environments of accreting black holes after it is launched in 2023.
WCA member Brian McNamara serves on NASA’s Resolve Instrument Team and is principal investigator for the agreement between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency entitled, X-ray Calibration for the NASA Resolve Instrument at the Canadian Light Source Synchrotron (CLS) Facility. This program supported facility upgrades and operation of the Canadian Light Source. Led by scientists from Goddard Space Flight Center and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, McNamara’s team is performing Resolve filter transmission studies to calibrate the instrument. McNamara serves on the XRISM Science Team. His research team will use Resolve to perform detailed spectroscopic studies of the hot atmospheres of galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and accreting black holes.