The INTEGRAL mission an overview

P. Kretschmar , C. Winkler (1) , T. J.-L. Courvoisier , G. Di Cocco , R. Diehl , N. Gehrels , S. Grebenev , W. Hermsen , J. M. Mas-Hesse , F. Lebrun (2, 3) , N. Lund (4) , G. G. C. Palumbo , J. C. Paul (2, 3) , J.-P. Roques (5) , R. Sunyaev , B. Teegarden , P. Ubertini (6)

1 ESTEC - European Space Research and Technology Centre
2 DAP - Département d'Astrophysique (ex SAP)
3 APC (UMR_7164) - AstroParticule et Cosmologie
4 DTU Space - National Space Institute [Lyngby]
5 CESR - Centre d'étude spatiale des rayonnements
6 IASF-Roma - Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica - Roma

The ESA observatory INTEGRAL (International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory) is dedicated to fine imaging and spectroscopy in the energy range 15 keV to 10 Mev with concurrent X-ray (3-35 keV) and optical monitoring. It was launched on October 17, 2002 and has been succesfully operating ever since. Its two main instruments the spectrometer SPI - optimized for high resolution spectroscopy - and the imager IBIS - optimized for for high resolution imaging - are complemented by the X-ray monitor JEM-X and the optical monitor OMC. All the high energy instruments use coded mask techniques, allowing imaging in the gamma-ray range and combining wide fields of view with high spatial resolution. The presentation gives an overview of the unique properties of INTEGRAL.

Mots clés: gamma rays: observations; X-rays: stars

Domaines: Cosmologie et astrophysique extra-galactique [astro-ph.CO]; Astrophysique [astro-ph]

P. Kretschmar, C. Winkler, T. J.-L. Courvoisier, G. Di Cocco, R. Diehl, et al.. The INTEGRAL mission an overview. Populations of High Energy Sources in Galaxies, Aug 2005, Dublin, Ireland. pp.59-65, ⟨10.1017/S1743921306007873⟩. ⟨in2p3-00183956⟩