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NICER

Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer

Active Mission

NASA’s NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) is an X-ray telescope that studies neutron stars, black holes, and other phenomena from its home aboard the International Space Station. NICER also demonstrated the use of galactic pulsars as navigational beacons for future deep-space exploration missions.

Type

Payload

NASA Lead

Goddard

launched

June 3, 2017

Wavelength

X-rays
👁 An astronaut takes a selfie with a telescope
The NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) X-ray telescope is reflected on NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 flight engineer Nick Hague’s spacesuit helmet visor in this high-flying “space-selfie” taken during a spacewalk on Jan. 16, 2025.
NASA/Nick Hague

Catch up on NICER's repair journey

Featured Story

Astronomers Catch Unprecedented Features at Brink of Active Black Hole

International teams of astronomers monitoring a supermassive black hole in the heart of a distant galaxy have detected features never…

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👁 Image

Latest NICER News

3 Min Read

NASA Space Station Research Helps Power Moon Science

Image Article
5 Min Read

Astronomers Catch Unprecedented Features at Brink of Active Black Hole

Article
4 Min Read

Astronaut Set to Patch NASA’s X-ray Telescope Aboard Space Station

Article
Featured Video

NASA’s NICER Probes the Squeezability of Neutron Stars

Matter in the hearts of neutron stars ­– dense remnants of exploded massive stars – takes the most extreme form we can measure. Thanks to data from NICER, scientists have discovered that this mysterious matter is less squeezable than some physicists predicted.

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