Prototyping a global soft X-ray imaging instrument for heliophysics, planetary science, and astrophysics science

Enabling Technologies for Next Generation Ultraviolet Astrophysics, Planetary, and Heliophysics Missions

A Microservice-Based Portal for X-ray Transient and Variable Sources

Modern soft X-ray observatories can yield unique insights into time domain astrophysics, and a huge amount of information is stored and largely unexploited in data archives. Like a treasure-hunt, the EXTraS project is harvesting the hitherto unexplored temporal domain information buried in the serendipitous data collected by the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) instrument onboard the ESA X...

Evaluation of multifunctional targeted gold nanoparticles on X-ray attenuation in nasopharyngeal cancer cells by X- ray imaging

Introduction: Head-and-neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide with the number of cases consistently increasing in developing countries. Successful development of effective, safe and cost effective nanoprobes for head-and-neck cancer targeting imaging is a big challenge. This study is aimed to develop cysteamine-folate conjugated gold nanoparticles (F-Cys-AuNPs) a...

Miniature lightweight X-ray optics (MiXO) for surface elemental composition mapping of asteroids and comets

The compositions of diverse planetary bodies are of fundamental interest to planetary science, providing clues to the formation and evolutionary history of the target bodies and the solar system as a whole. Utilizing the X-ray fluorescence unique to each atomic element, X-ray imaging spectroscopy is a powerful diagnostic tool of the chemical and mineralogical compositions of diverse planetary b...

The Lunar Occultation Observer (loco) - a Nuclear Astrophysics All-sky Survey Mission Concept

Introduction: The Moon is a unique location for experimental astrophysics. It’s dense regolith and lack of an appreciable atmosphere are just two of the characteristics that can be brought to bare on the challenges of high-energy astrophysics. The Lunar Occultation Observer (LOCO) is a new γ-ray astrophysics mission concept expected to have unprecedented sensitivity in the nuclear regime (~0.02...