The Energetic X-ray Observatory on Space Station (EXOSS) is a mission concept for high-sensitivity coded-aperture sky surveys and studies of the spectral and temporal behavior of astrophysical sources from approximately 3 keV to 1 MeV. The scientific motivation for the mission and the instrument requirements, including the need for high angular resolution to resolve and identify numerous detectable sources, are summarized. Two baseline telescopes are described: one employing a 1.4-sq-m array of Xe gas imaging proportional counters to cover the 3 to 100 keV range with 1 arcmin resolution; the second using a 2.8-sq-m array of NaI/CsI imaging phoswich detectors to span the 20 keV to MeV range with 12 arcmin resolution.

Date Published: 1 November 1990
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 1344, EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Instrumentation for Astronomy, (1 November 1990); doi: 10.1117/12.23278

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1344:
EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Instrumentation for Astronomy
Oswald H. W. Siegmund; Hugh S. Hudson, Editor(s)