Hitomi (ASTRO-H)
Hitomi (ASTRO-H) was a JAXA-led international X-ray astronomy mission launched into low Earth orbit on February 17, 2016. It was designed to observe the hot and energetic universe across X-ray and soft-gamma-ray energies, returning an early Perseus-cluster result before the spacecraft was lost.
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Identity
- Aliases
- HitomiASTRO-HX-ray Astronomy Satellite ASTRO-H
- Name
- Hitomi (ASTRO-H)
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- Hitomi (ASTRO-H) was a JAXA-led international X-ray astronomy mission launched into low Earth orbit on February 17, 2016. It was designed to observe the hot and energetic universe across X-ray and soft-gamma-ray energies, returning an early Perseus-cluster result before the spacecraft was lost.
- Destination
- Low Earth orbit
- End Date
- 2016-04-28
- Outcome
- Hitomi demonstrated high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy with an early observation of unexpectedly calm gas in the Perseus cluster, but JAXA discontinued recovery and operations after an attitude-control anomaly caused the spacecraft to separate into multiple pieces.
- Start Date
- 2016-02-17
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://global.jaxa.jp/projects/sas/astro_h/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 1, 2026 at 15:36:34 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 1, 2026 at 15:36:34 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Programs
- -
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles