FOXSI Sounding Rocket Project

The Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) rocket project is a collaboration between the University of Minnesota, University of California Berkeley, NASA/Marshall, NASA/Goddard, University of Tokyo/Kavli IPMU, Nagoya University, Tokyo University of Science, JAXA/ISAS, and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. This experiment studies solar radiation by exploring issues of energy release and particle acceleration in the corona—the outermost layer of the Sun. The rocket observes and collects x-ray data throughout its brief six to seven-minute flight by targeting active regions, small solar flares, and the quiet Sun. This data provides our teams with information about the behavior of high-energy electrons (small, negatively charged particles) as they travel through the corona. FOXSI is the first solar mission to use direct focusing optics in such a high energy range, rather than the indirect imaging methods of the past. The rocket’s third launch is scheduled for September 7, 2018. For a more in-depth look at FOXSI-3, please visit our Upcoming Launch page. For regular updates on our team's work as we prepare for the launch, visit our Blog.