An artist's impression of the Integral spacecraft

The INTEGRAL mission, due to be launched in October 2002, will gather some of the most energetic radiation that comes from space. With its gamma-ray spectrometer (SPI) and gamma-ray imager (IBIS), it will be the most sensitive gamma-ray observatory ever to be launched. The payload also includes two X-ray monitors (JEM-X) and an optical camera (OMC) to help identify gamma-ray sources.