Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)
IXPE is NASA’s first mission to study the polarization of X-rays from many different types of celestial objects.
![](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ixpe_003.jpg?w=1041)
Passion and Precision: Meet IXPE Italian ‘Primo Tecnologo’ Elisabetta Cavazzuti
Italian astrophysicist Elisabetta Cavazzuti spends her spare time rappelling down steep cliffs and waterfalls. This sport, called “canyoning,” combines a sharp respect for physics and precision engineering with a deep love for the beauty of nature. The rest of the time, her focus is on the stars.
Learn More![n her spare time, Elisabetta Cavazzuti, seen here among fellow fans of the outdoors, is climbing a steep cliff with rock climbing gear on including a helment.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/dscn9685.jpg?w=1024)
IXPE is NASA’s first mission to study the polarization of X-rays from many different types of celestial objects.
IXPE builds on the discoveries of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other space telescopes by measuring the amount and direction of polarization of X-ray light.
IXPE’s polarization measurements will help scientists answer questions such as why black holes spin, how do pulsars shine so brightly in X-rays, and what powers the jets of energetic particles that are ejected from the region around the supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies.
Learn More![A black hole surrounded by an accretion disk with a jet protruding out of it, and a zoomed-in view of the jet showing different kinds of light being emitted after the particles hit the shock wave.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/g-627151-blazar-jet-ixpe-nolabels-1080px.jpg?w=1024)
The satellite was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket on Dec. 9, 2021.
IXPE is the first satellite dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from a variety of cosmic sources, such as black holes and neutron stars.
Polarization is a property of light that gives scientists important information about cosmic objects. Before IXPE, X-ray polarization was rarely measured in space. In just one year, IXPE has conducted measurements no telescope has ever been able to make before.
Read More![A gif of IXPE deploying in space before starting its science operations to study the cosmos.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ixpe-1.gif?w=540)
IXPE Blog
Learn more about the people, science, and goals of NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE).
Learn More about IXPE Blog![Composite image of the Crab Nebula with X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue and white), optical light from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (purple), and infrared light from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (pink).](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/crab-scaled-1.jpeg?w=2048)
IXPE
Chandra X-ray Observatory
Chandra detects X-ray emissions from very hot regions of the universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes.
Learn More![](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000053/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000053~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1920&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)