NICER mission preparations, August 2015. NICER team members Takashi Okajima, Yang Soong, and Steven Kenyon applying epoxy to the X-ray concentrator mounts after alignment. NICER is designed to study neutron stars using an X-ray timing and spectroscopy instrument. It was launched in June 2017 as a payload to be attached to the International Space Station (ISS). NICER's 56 mirror assemblies concentrate X-rays onto silicon detectors to gather data that will probe the interior makeup of neutron stars, including those that appear to flash regularly, called pulsars. Photographed in August 2015, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. |