An imaging X-ray fluorescence spectrometer for near earth objects

We propose a novel imaging X-ray spectrometer to be flown on a space mission to a Near Earth Object (NEO) (the Moon, a near Earth asteroid or a comet). In either of the first two cases the instrument will record X-ray fluorescence excited from the surface by the solar X-ray flux to form “compositional maps” of its surface, providing valuable information on the evolution of these objects. In the case of a comet, the device will study the X-ray emission resulting from its interaction with the solar wind. cruise when the spacecraft is en-route to the NEO the instrument will be used to make astronomical observations of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), X-ray binary stars and coronal sources in star clusters such as the Pleiades or Hyades. strument, proposed for ESA’s SMART-1 mission, is a miniature telescope, of 37.5 cm focal length, based on microchannel plate (MCP) optics and charged coupled device (CCD) detectors providing both imaging and a medium resolution ∼50–100 eV spectroscopic capability; sufficient to resolve the L lines of Ca, Ti, Fe, and the K lines of O, Mg, Al and Si with an angular resolution ∼10 arcmin and a 6×6° field of view.