Q: Why are there objects in
the Observation
Log that are not listed in the PV and calibration target lists?
A: These are most likely to be commissioning targets - celestial X-ray sources that were used for the purpose of satellite and/or instrument commissioning. The exposure times were determined by what was needed for commissioning, and the instruments may or may not be operated in the normal mode. Therefore, commissioning data may or may not be suitable for scientific use. The specific settings used for individual commissioning observations can be provided upon request.
Q: Where can I find out about the XRISM
Guest Observer (GO) Program?
A: There are three parallel solicitations, depending on the institution
with which the principal investigator (PI) is affiliated.
PIs located in the US or Canada should respond to the
NASA opportunity.
PIs located in ESA member countries and cooperating states should
respond to the ESA call for proposals,
PIs located in Japan or all other countries should respond to
the Japanese call for proposals,
Please also consult the XRISM Proposers' Observatory Guide
(the HTML version or
the PDF version),
which contains further details of the proposal process, as well as the
technical capabilities of the Resolve and Xtend instruments on-board
XRISM.
When does the Cycle 1 period begin and end?
Can I submit a proposal for an observation that must take place in August,
2025?
A: Cycle 1 observations are expected to start during August, 2024,
and continue for 1 year.
Since there is some uncertainty in the exact start and end dates,
proposals for time-critical observations in August, 2025 are allowed
in Cycle 1.
Q: Should XRISM proposal discuss contingency
plans in case the Gate Valve will have opened?
A: No. The Cycle 1 solitation is exclusively for the gate-valve
closed configuration of XRISM/Resolve.
Q: If a XRISM proposal requests
observations of multiple objects, or multiple pointings of an object,
can it be partially accepted?
A: Yes, if, in the opinion of the reviewers, partial acceptance
makes sense.
If this is also acceptable in the opinion of the propsing team,
we recommend that the targets be listed in the order of priority.
Q: Can XRISM perform TOO (target of
opportunity) observations?
A. Yes, and there are two ways to request them. TOO observations
of unpredictable events in known targets can be requested through
the regular proposal process. However, generic TOO proposals -
for unpredictable events in a class of objects, whose identities
are not known in advance (e.g., outburst of a hitherto unknown X-ray
transient) - are not solicited in Cycle 1. In addition, TOO targets
cannot be mixed with non-TOO targets within a single proposal.
In addition, it will be possible to submit a real-time request
for TOO observations, once an unpredictable event is detected.
During the PV phase, this opportunity is open only to the XRISM
team members; in the GO phase of the mission, a mechanism to submit
real-time TOO and other drector's discretionary time (DDT) observation
will be opened to the community at large,
Once triggered, the anticipated response time for TOO observation
is 48 to 72 hours.
See notes on
TOO proposals for more.
Q: What are the various TOO-related fields mean
when proposing for TOO observations with XRISM?
A. For the purpose of time allocation, we use probability-weighted
exposure times for TOO proposals, the estimate for which must be
provided by the proposers (the basis for the estimate should be
provided in the proposal text). For XRISM, we request
the proposal-wide probability-weighted exposure time on the general
form. Also, the general form should indicate the estimated probability
that at least some of the proposed observations can be triggered.
See notes on TOO
proposals for more.
In addition, the triggering criterion must be explicitly specified.
This can be done in the Remarks boxes either individually in the
target forms or collectively in the general form.
Q: Do I need to take into account the ~50% observing efficiency for an exposure request? If I
want to integrate on a source for 100 ks, do I need to ask for a 200 ks exposure?
A: No. POG Section 2.1 states "The overall observing efficiency of the satellite is expected to be about 45%.
Proposals should specify the desired good on-source exposure but without accounting for instrumental dead times
due to high count rates, if relevant." Please also take a look at the ARK help for XRISM RPS forms of the Total
Observation Time entry.
Q: Where do I find instructions for writing
proposals for dual-anonymous review?
A: The NASA solicitation of XRISM observing time will be evaluated
through dual-anonymous peer review. This means that proposals should
eliminate language that identifies the proposers or institution. For more
information see the Guide
to XRISM Proposers and in particular the
Guidelines for
Anonymous Proposals.
Q: How is the team expertise document used?
A: PIs are required to provide an non-anonymized "Expertise and
Resources" PDF file (typically one page, up to 3 pages are allowed),
as a second upload (after the anonymized scientific justifcation) through
ARK. A LaTeX
template and a Word
template are available.
This document will be distributed to the review panel after all
proposals have been reviewed and rated, only for programs which are
in the selectable range. This is to allow the reviewers to assess
the team capabilities required to execute a given proposed science
investigation. If there are clear, compelling deficiencies in the
expertise required to see through the goals of the proposal, the
panel may decide to flag the submission accordingly, and provide a
detailed justification in its comments to NASA. This review may not
be used to change the rating of the proposals.
Q: How do I reference unpublished work? How do I reference proprietary results?
A: References to published work are encouraged, including work citable
by a Digital Object Identifier (DOI).
Unpublished work that is based on public data sets or public
software can be referenced as work "by the proposal team," without
identifying the PI or Co-Is by name.
It may be necessary to cite exclusive access datasets or non-public
software that may reveal (or strongly imply) the investigators on the
proposal. It is suggested proposers use language such as "obtained
in private communication" or "from private consultation"
when referring to such potentially revealing work, again without
identifying anyone by name.
Q: When will XRISM PV data become
publicly available?
A: The bulk of the PV data will be made public one year after the
conclusion of the PV phase of the mission, i.e., August, 2025.
In addition, we are making some
Early Release data public. The released files include X-ray images
or spectra obtained and reduced during the commissioning or calibration
operations of the Resolve and Xtend instruments aboard XRISM.
Note that the event files are not provided. Moreover, these data were
extracted assuming the current, still preliminary, calibration. While
the calibration is advanced enough to demonstrate the data quality,
reliable scientific results cannot be derived from these data products,
