Collaboration Across Cultures Global Astronomy: Collaboration Across Cultures

Continuing the Collaboration: Astro-H

Astro-H satellite
Artist's impression of the Astro-H satellite in space.

The Goddard instrument team has not given up on seeing an X-ray calorimeter work in space – the potential to see the Universe in greater and greater detail is too exciting to give up on.

Teams at ISAS put in a proposal for NeXT (the New exploration X-ray Telescope), as Japan's X-ray observatory to follow Suzaku. With the support of the ISAS team, Goddard's X-ray calorimeter team decided to write a “proposal of opportunity” to ask NASA to include a X-ray calorimeter on NeXT. Normally NASA, and other funding agencies, only accept proposals at specific times following an official announcement of a specific funding opportunity. A proposal of opportunity is written when special circumstances arise between official proposal cycles.

Both the JAXA and NASA accepted the proposals of their respective teams. NeXT has since been re-named “Astro-H”, and is planned for launch in 2014.


Collaboration History

Collaboration allows astronomers and engineers to pool resources and expertise to advance our understanding of the Universe. NASA and ISAS have worked together for the past three decades on X-ray astronomy.

Astro-H

Astro-H is the latest satellite in the collaboration between NASA and ISAS. It is currently targeted to launch in 2015, and the project scientists and engineers are working hard to make this satellite a reality.

Suzaku

Suzaku has been actively taking data since its launch in 2005. It is a re-flight of the failed Astro-E satellite – showing that the collaboration can survive both success and failure.

ASCA

ASCA was launched in 1993 and made over 3000 observations of the X-ray sky in its 8 years of operations.

Ginga

Ginga was the first X-ray astronomy collaboration between agencies in the U.S. and ISAS, which forged the way for future collaborations with NASA. It operated from 1987 until 1991.