ISRO's 1st mission of 2024: Space agency launches XPoSat to study black holes

ISRO's 1st mission of 2024: In its first space mission of 2024, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat). The satellite was launched at 9:10 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Following the Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya L1 missions by the Indian space agency, this is the country's next historic step towards space exploration.

ISRO XPoSat launch: Significance 

Over the course of five years, India's XPoSat mission will measure the orientation of vibration in light waves, assisting in the understanding of the radiation mechanism and geometry of celestial sources.

Notably, this is ISRO's first dedicated scientific satellite aimed at space-based polarisation measurements of celestial X-ray emissions.

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency of the United States, launched a similar study in December 2021 with the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer mission, focusing on supernova remnants, particle streams from black holes, and other cosmic phenomena.