India launches XPoSat satellite to study black holes

India successfully launches its first satellite to study black holes, reports Bloomberg.

The device is called the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) and weighs 470 kg. It will study X-rays from about 50 objects. It will use equipment developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in collaboration with a research institute in Bengaluru.

As you know, NASA launched a mission of this nature in 2021. It is called the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. Its goal is to better understand the nature of neutron stars and black holes.

By the way, in August last year, India successfully landed its Chandrayaan-3 mission on the Moon. So far, only the United States, the Soviet Union, and China have managed to land on the moon unharmed.

The previous Chandrayaan-2 mission ended in failure in 2019. Then, due to a software malfunction, the spacecraft crashed into the lunar surface.