The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range, from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution, high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12 keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the 40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science themes.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E  >  2  keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month

Facile synthesis of acyl chitosan isothiocyanates and their application to porphyrin-appended chitosan derivative.

Chitosan (1) was reacted with phenylisothiocyanate in 5% AcOH/H2O to give N-phenylthiocarbamoyl chitosan (2) with a degree of substitution (DS) of N-phenylthiocarbamoyl groups of 0.86 in 87.1% yield. The following acylation of compound 2 with hexanoyl chloride in the presence of pyridine afforded 3, 6-di-O-2, 3-hexanoyl chitosan isothiocyanate (4a) with a DS of the isothiocyanate groups of 0.70 in high yield, unexpectedly. Compound 4a exhibited high levels of reactivity toward various amines to give the corresponding N-thiocarbamoyl chitosan derivatives in high yields. Other acyl (decanoyl (4b), myristroyl (4c), stearoyl (4d), benzoyl (4e)) chitosan isothiocyanates were also prepared from chitosan (1) in high yields. To evaluate the potential applications of acyl chitosan isothiocyanates, N-(triphenylporphynyl)thiocarbamoyl chitosan derivative 6 with a DS of the triphenylporphynyl groups of 0.46 was prepared from compound 4b. The Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer film of compound 6 gave a good photon-to-electron conversion performance

Medium-energy particle experiments—electron analyzer (MEP-e) for the exploration of energization and radiation in geospace (ERG) mission

Abstract The medium-energy particle experiments—electron analyzer onboard the exploration of energization and radiation in geospace spacecraft measures the energy and direction of each incoming electron in the energy range of 7–87 keV. The sensor covers a 2π-radian disklike field of view with 16 detectors, and the full solid angle coverage is achieved through the spacecraft’s spin motion. The electron energy is independently measured by both an electrostatic analyzer and avalanche photodiodes, enabling significant background reduction. We describe the technical approach, data output, and examples of initial observations