INTEGRAL (INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory) is a European mission in partnership with Russia and United States, aimed at observing one of the most energetic radiations in the Universe from space. In a range between 15 keV and 10 MeV, INTEGRAL’s instruments study remnants of supernovae, neutron stars, black holes, active galactic nuclei and gamma-ray bursts. The four instruments point simultaneously to the same sky region, allowing a clear identification of the source.

Some of the most energetic processes happening in the sky will be finally shown in studies, such as the study on dense objects (neutron stars and black holes), nucleosynthesis in supernovae and gamma-ray bursts. The combination between the sub minute of arc space resolution of the IBIS imager and the keV spectrum resolution of the SPI (SPectrometer on Integral) germanium detector makes INTEGRAL a way more powerful diagnostic instrument than all the previous and also recent missions (SIGMA and GRO).

SPI’s main goal is observing the gamma-ray lines, such as 26AI, 44Ti and 22Na, in our galaxy, to track nucleosynthesis processes. Mapping aluminium will make it possible to track star formation in the galactic disk, while titanium and sodium, created in explosive processes, should tell us whether there are recent remnants of supernova in the disk.

IBIS, characterized by a large field of sight, helped to detect several new gamma-ray sources mainly by mapping the region in the centre of our galaxy and started to provide relevant results in the field of extragalactic astronomy.

The INAF Institute of Space Astrophysics and Cosmic Physics, under the coordination of the ASI, is the PI of the main instrument of the satellite, the IBIS telescope, which also includes a French contribution for the X-ray detection plane. It contributed also to the Integral Scientific Data Centre (ISDC).

Italy provided also a significant contribution to manufacturing the SPI spectrometer, which falls under the responsibility of France. All the working groups of the different sections (Rome, Palermo, Bologna and Milan) are currently involved in the flight operations related to optimizing the operation of on-board detectors and calibration stage, which happens every 6 months. Furthermore, these working groups participate from a scientific point of view in mission control activities carried out at the ESOC/ESA operation centre and the ISDC.

Furthermore, the SSDC has the task to host a copy of the data reduction software for scientific instruments and the archive of public data related to the mission, to guarantee their distribution and support the scientific community in data analysis. The SSDC closely works with the ISDC, INTEGRAL Scientific Data Centre, which is in charge of receiving and reducing on-ground data.

‣ News

THURSDAY 31 AUGUST 2023

The catalogue of PRISMA acquisitions is now freely available on GEOSS portal ‣

The catalogue data is updated daily MORE...

SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023

EUROPE’S EUCLID MISSION LIFTS OFF ‣

The successful launch of the satellite marks the beginning of a mission designed to observe billions of galaxies and uncover the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Italy's decisive contribution to Euclid was made possible through the effort and expertise of the Italian Space Agency, the National Institute of Astrophysics and the National Institute of Nuclear Physics MORE...

WEDNESDAY 14 JUNE 2023

Teodoro Valente is the new president of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) ‣

Following the appointment of its new president, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) has also designated a new Board of Directors MORE...

FRIDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2022

THE PARTICIPATION OF THE ITALIAN SPACE AGENCY IN THE 73RD INTERNATIONAL ASTRONAUTICAL CONGRESS IN PARIS ‣

The space showcase par excellence takes place in Paris from September 18th to September 22nd, 2022, and precedes the next European edition, which will take place in Italy with IAC Milan 2024, organized by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and hosted by the Italian Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIDAA), the ASI and Leonardo

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WEDNESDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2022

SAMANTHA CRISTOFORETTI WILL BE THE COMMANDER OF THE ISS ‣

AstroSamantha will become the first European astronaut in command of the International Space Station MORE...