XRISM X-rays the Galaxy’s Sulfur [Alert: NASA Budget to Cancel Support] | NASA Goddard

XRISM X-rays the Galaxy’s Sulfur [Alert: NASA Budget to Cancel Support] | NASA Goddard

Astronomers used X-rays from two binary star systems to detect sulfur in the interstellar medium, the gas and dust found in the space between stars. It is the first direct measurement of sulfur’s gas and solid phases, a unique capability of X-ray spectroscopy, XRISM’s (pronounced “crism”) primary method of studying the cosmos.

The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) is an X-ray space telescope. It is a science mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in partnership with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), intended to study galaxy clusters, outflows from galaxy nuclei, and dark matter. NASA and JAXA co-developed Resolve, the mission’s microcalorimeter spectrometer.

NASA's support for the international XRISM astronomy mission is being canceled in NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request, along with funds for 18 other active science missions.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about severe science budget cuts at NASA: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request

 https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/

XRISM is a next generation X-ray astronomy spacecraft, succeeding NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton. XRISM is intended to fill a gap in observational capabilities between the anticipated retirement of those older X-ray telescopes.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Producer: Sophia Roberts(eMITS)
Science Writer: Jeanette Kazmierczak (University of Maryland)
Scientist: Brian J. Williams (NASA/GSFC)
Duration: 1 minute, 48 seconds
Release Date: July 23, 2025

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