C-1 instrument catches first glimpse of X-rays from the Moon

Bangalore, Jan 23 (PTI) The Imaging X-ray Spectrometer
(CIXS), one of the 11 payloads onboard Chandrayaan-1
spacecraft, jointly developed by the Indian Space Research
Organisation and the UK's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, has
successfully detected the first X-ray signature from the Moon,
ISRO announced Friday.

"This is the first step in its mission to reveal the
origin and evolution of the Moon by mapping its surface
composition", Bangalore-headquartered ISRO said in a
statement.

Chandrayaan-1 was launched from Satish Dhawan Space
Centre, Sriharikota, on October 22 last year and it entered
the lunar orbit on November eight.

In orbit around the Moon, Chandrayaan-1 CIXS detected
the X-ray signal from a region near the Apollo landing sites
on December 12 last year.

"The solar flare that caused the X-ray fluorescence was
exceedingly weak, approximately 20 times smaller than the
minimum CIXS was designed to detect", ISRO said. "The X-ray
camera collected three minutes of data from the Moon just as
the flare started and the camera finished its observation".


"The joint development and operationalisation of
CIXS in Chandrayaan-1 between ISRO and RAL, the UK, is a
major achievement", ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said.
"First signatures obtained from CIXS are highly
encouraging".

ISRO said CIXS depends on radiation from the Sun to
activate detection of X-rays. Though, the minimum in solar
activity was expected to end in early 2008, solar activity is
yet to reach the anticipated increase.

"With the highly sensitive CIXS (pronounced "kicks")
instrument, it has been possible to detect the X-rays", the
Indian space agency said.

The camera was designed and built at Space Science and
Technology Department at the RAL in collaboration with ISRO.

It's an X-ray spectrometer that uses X-rays to map the
surface composition of the moon and would help scientists
understand its origin and evolution, as well as quantifying
the mineral resources that exist there.