In this paper we present the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry mission. eXTP is a space science mission designed to study fundamental physics under extreme conditions of density, gravity and magnetism. The mission aims at determining the equation of state of matter at supra-nuclear density, measuring effects of QED, and understanding the dynamics of matter in strong-field gravity. In addition to investigating fundamental physics, eXTP will be a very powerful observatory for astrophysics that will provide observations of unprecedented quality on a variety of galactic and extragalactic objects. In particular, its wide field monitoring capabilities will be highly instrumental to detect the electro-magnetic counterparts of gravitational wave sources. The paper provides a detailed description of: 1) The technological and technical aspects, and the expected performance of the instruments of the scientific payload; 2) The elements and functions of the mission, from the spacecraft to the ground segment.X-ray instrumentation, X-ray Polarimetry, X-ray Timing, Space mission: eXTP PACS number(s): 95.55. Ka, 95.85.Nv, 95.75.Hi, 97.60.Jd, 97.60.Lf

for the JEM-EUSO CollaborationThe Extreme Universe Observatory onboard the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM-EUSO) is a mission being developed to observe ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) from space. JEM-EUSO consists of a wide field of view UV-telescope, assisted by an atmospheric monitoring system, designed to be mounted oboard the International Space Station. JEM-EUSO will observe the extensive air showers (EAS) induced by UHE cosmic particles with energies above 3 × 10 19 eV by using the earth's atmosphere as a large detector. Due to the amount of monitored target volume JEM-EUSO is expected to reach an effective aperture of approx. 2 × 10 5 km 2 sr. During its lifetime, the mission will measure several hundred events with E > 5 × 10 19 eV significantly improving the statistics of the most energetic part of the spectrum above the observed cut-off. In the context of the JEM-EUSO Collaboration different mission profiles are being explored. A configuration actively investigated is a telescope, mainly based on the same technologies already employed in the baseline instrument, which can be launched with the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and transported to the ISS by the Dragon spacecraft. This new mission configuration allows a circular design of the optics which improves the performances. In this paper we present a brief study of the expected angular resolution of this new configuration.

Cosmic rays with energies exceeding 10 18 eV, usually defined as Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs), allow the possibility to study physics at energies well beyond man made accelerators. State of the art UHECR detectors have reached unprecedented exposures and have pioneered the field of Extreme Energy Cosmic Rays (EECR), cosmic rays with energies exceeding 5 × 10 19 eV. The EECR flux is extremely small, of the order of 1 particle per square kilometer per century. The next generation of UHECR and EECR detectors are expected to increase the exposure by at least one order of magnitude. The JEM-EUSO mission, currently designed to be hosted onboard the JEM module of the ISS, consists of a ultra wide field of view UV-telescope orbiting the earth at an altitude of about 400 km. JEM-EUSO will look for fluorescent UV tracks produced by Extensive Air Showers (EAS) on the night side of the earth. According to the most recent studies, the JEM-EUSO mission, can be transported onto the ISS by using the SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. In this work we present preliminary studies on the angular and energy reconstruction performances for different types of primaries (protons, iron nuclei and gamma rays). We compare our results with previously published results for the JEM-EUSO mission in a different configuration, and find a slight improvement.

Extreme Universe Space Observatory on-board the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM-EUSO) is a mission devoted to the observation of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) around and above the Greisen-Zatseptin-Kuzimin energy at ∼ 5 × 10 19 eV. The origin of these enigmatically energetic cosmic rays remain an open question since their discovery more than 50 years ago. High statistics on UHECRs are essential to provide key information to answer this question and necessitate very large exposures to overcome their extremely low flux of an order of a few events per square kilometer per century. JEM-EUSO is designed to measure the air showers induced by UHECRs using a super-wide field-of-view ultra-violet fluorescence telescope pointed downwards on Earth's nighttime atmosphere. Orbiting onboard the International Space Station (ISS), JEM-EUSO rather uniformly covers the entire Celestial Sphere, allowing a thorough analysis of the UHECR arrival direction distribution. In the present work, we introduce a design of the JEM-EUSO telescope suitable for using the Space-X Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon spacecraft for transport to the ISS. This design allows for accommodation of the telescope with equivalent or slightly improved performance than that studied for H-II Transport Vehicle option. We then discuss the expected performance, in particular the scientific objective of searching the arrival direction distribution of UHECRs for their origin through simulation studies.

for the JEM-EUSO CollaborationThe EUSO-Balloon experiment is a pathfinder mission for JEM-EUSO which has as its main objective an end-to-end test of all the key technologies and instrumentation of JEM-EUSO detectors. The instrument is a telescope of smaller dimension with respect to the one designed for the ISS. It is mounted in an unpressurized gondola of a stratospheric balloon. It was launched during the CNES flight campaign in August 2014 from the Timmins (Ontario) base. The flight lasted about five hours and the payload reached a float altitude of about 38 km. In this paper we will present the Data Processor (DP) of EUSO-Balloon. The DP is the component of the electronics system which performs the data handling and, through the interface with the telemetry system, allows the controlling and the monitoring of the instrument from the ground. We will describe the main components of the system and their performance during the flight.