XMM-Newton, also known as the High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission and the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission, is an X-ray space observatory launched by the European Space Agency in December 1999 on an Ariane 5 rocket. It is the second cornerstone mission of ESA's Horizon 2000 programme. Named after physicist and astronomer Sir Isaac Newton, the spacecraft is tasked with investigating interstellar X-ray sources, performing narrow- and broad-range spectroscopy, and performing the first simultaneous imaging of objects in both X-ray and optical (visible and ultraviolet) wavelengths. Initially funded for two years, with a ten-year design life, the spacecraft remains in good health and has received repeated mission extensions, most recently in March 2023 and is scheduled to operate until the end of 2026. ESA plans to succeed XMM-Newton with the Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics (ATHENA), the second large mission in the Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 plan, to be launched in 2035. XMM-Newton is similar to NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, also launched in 1999. The INTEGRAL space telescope complemented XMM-Newton in the gamma ray range. As of May 2018, close to 5,600 papers have been published about either XMM-Newton or the scientific results it has returned.
Concept and mission history The observational scope of XMM-Newton includes the detection of X-ray emissions from astronomical objects, detailed studies of star-forming regions, investigation of the formation and evolution of galaxy clusters, the environment of supermassive black holes and mapping of the mysterious dark matter. In 1982, even before the launch of XMM-Newton's predecessor EXOSAT in 1983, a proposal was generated for a "multi-mirror" X-ray telescope mission. The XMM mission was formally proposed to the ESA Science Programme Committee in 1984 and gained approval from the Agency's Council of Ministers in January 1985. That same year, several working groups were established to determine the feasibility of such a mission, and mission objectives were presented at a workshop in Denmark in June 1985. At this workshop, it was proposed that the spacecraft contain 12 low-energy and 7 high-energy X-ray telescopes. The spacecraft's overall configuration was developed by February 1987, and drew heavily from lessons learned during the EXOSAT mission; the Telescope Working Group had reduced the number of X-ray telescopes to seven standardised units. In June 1988 the European Space Agency approved the mission and issued a call for investigation proposals (an "announcement of opportunity"). Improvements in technology further reduced the number of X-ray telescopes needed to just three. In June 1989, the mission's instruments had been selected and work began on spacecraft hardware. A project team was formed in January 1993 and based at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, Netherlands. Prime contractor Dornier Satellitensysteme (a subsidiary of the former DaimlerChrysler Aerospace) was chosen in October 1994 after the mission was approved into the implementation phase, with development and construction beginning in March 1996 and March 1997, respectively. The XMM Survey Science Centre was established at School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester in 1995. The three flight mirror modules for the X-ray telescopes were delivered by Italian subcontractor Media Lario in December 1998, and spacecraft integration and testing was completed in September 1999. XMM left the ESTEC integration facility on 9 September 1999, taken by road to Katwijk then by the barge Emeli to Rotterdam. On 12 September, the spacecraft left Rotterdam for French Guiana aboard Arianespace's transport ship MN Toucan. The Toucan docked at the French Guianese town of Kourou on 23 September, and was transported to Guiana Space Centre's Ariane 5 Final Assembly Building for final launch preparation. Launch of XMM took place on 10 December 1999 at 14:32 UTC from the Guiana Space Centre. XMM was lofted into space aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, and placed into a highly elliptical, 40-degree orbit that had a perigee of 838 km (521 mi) and an apogee of 112,473 km (69,887 mi). Forty minutes after being released from the Ariane upper stage, telemetry confirmed to ground stations that the spacecraft's solar arrays had successfully deployed. Engineers waited an additional 22 hours before commanding the on-board propulsion systems to fire a total of five times, which, between 10 and 16 December, changed the orbit to 7,365 × 113,774 km (4,576 × 70,696 mi) with a 38.9-degree inclination. This resulted in the spacecraft making one complete revolution of the Earth approximately every 48 hours. Immediately after launch, XMM began its Launch and Early Orbit phase of operations. On 17 and 18 December 1999, the X-ray modules and Optical Monitor doors were opened, respectively. Instrument activation started on 4 January 2000, and the Instrument Commissioning phase began on 16 January. The Optical Monitor (OM) attained first light on 5 January, the two European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) MOS-CCDs followed on 16 January and the EPIC pn-CCD on 22 January, and the Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS) saw first light on 2 February. On 3 March, the Calibration and Performance Validation phase began, and routine science operations began on 1 June. During a press conference on 9 February 2000, ESA presented the first images taken by XMM and announced that a new name had been chosen for the spacecraft. Whereas the program had formally been known as the High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission, the new name would reflect the nature of the program and the originator of the field of spectroscopy. Explaining the new name of XMM-Newton, Roger Bonnet, ESA's former Director of Science, said, "We have chosen this name because Sir Isaac Newton was the man who invented spectroscopy and XMM is a spectroscopy mission." He noted that because Newton is synonymous with gravity and one of the goals of the satellite was to locate large numbers of black hole candidates, "there was no better choice than XMM-Newton for the name of this mission." Including all construction, spacecraft launch, and two years of operation, the project was accomplished within a budget of €689 million (1999 conditions).
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