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The X-Ray Surveyor Mission: A Concept StudyNASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory continues to provide an unparalleled means for exploring the high-energy universe. With its half-arcsecond angular resolution, Chandra studies have deepened our understanding of galaxy clusters, active galactic nuclei, galaxies, supernova remnants, neutron stars, black holes, and solar system objects. As we look beyond Chandra, it is clear that comparable or even better angular resolution with greatly increased photon throughput is essential to address ever more demanding science questions-such as the formation and growth of black hole seeds at very high redshifts; the emergence of the first galaxy groups; and details of feedback over a large range of scales from galaxies to galaxy clusters. Recently, we initiated a concept study for such a mission, dubbed X-ray Surveyor. The X-ray Surveyor strawman payload is comprised of a high-resolution mirror assembly and an instrument set, which may include an X-ray microcalorimeter, a high-definition imager, and a dispersive grating spectrometer and its readout. The mirror assembly will consist of highly nested, thin, grazing-incidence mirrors, for which a number of technical approaches are currently under development-including adjustable X-ray optics, differential deposition, and new polishing techniques applied to a variety of substrates. This study benefits from previous studies of large missions carried out over the past two decades and, in most areas, points to mission requirements no more stringent than those of Chandra.
Document ID
20150018356
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Gaskin, Jessica A. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Weisskopf, Martin C. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Vikhlinin, Alexey (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Cambridge, MA, United States)
Tananbaum, Harvey D. (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Cambridge, MA, United States)
Bandler, Simon R. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Bautz, Marshall W. (Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Burrows, David N. (Pennsylvania State Univ. University Park, PA, United States)
Falcone, Abraham D. (Pennsylvania State Univ. University Park, PA, United States)
Harrison, Fiona A. (California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Heilmann, Ralf K. (Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Heinz, Sebastian (Wisconsin Univ. Madison, WI, United States)
Hopkins, Randall C. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Kilbourne, Caroline A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Kouveliotou, Chryssa (George Washington Univ. Washington, DC, United States)
Kraft, Ralph P. (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Cambridge, MA, United States)
Kravtsov, Andrey V. (Chicago Univ. Chicago, IL, United States)
McEntaffer, Randall L. (Iowa Univ. Iowa City, IA, United States)
Natarajan, Priyamvada (Yale Univ. New Haven, CT, United States)
O'Dell, Stephen L. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Petre, Robert (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Prieskorn, Zachary R. (Pennsylvania State Univ. University Park, PA, United States)
Ptak, Andrew F. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Ramsey, Brian D. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Reid, Paul B. (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Cambridge, MA, United States)
Schnell, Andrew R. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Schwartz, Daniel A. (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Cambridge, MA, United States)
Townsley, Leisa K. (Pennsylvania State Univ. University Park, PA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 24, 2015
Publication Date
August 9, 2015
Subject Category
Optics
Report/Patent Number
MSFC-E-DAA-TN26244
Meeting Information
Meeting: SPIE Optics + Photonics 2015
Location: San Diego, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: August 9, 2015
End Date: August 13, 2015
Sponsors: International Society for Optical Engineering
Funding Number(s)
WBS: WBS 399131.02.01.03.91
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Astronomy

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