NASA has selected the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) mission, co-led by McGill University Professor Darryl Haggard, to advance to the next stage of its $1 billion space probe competition.
"Over the course of its mission, AXIS will focus on observing early black holes from the universe's infancy, analyzing their origins and influence on galaxy formation. It will track down explosive transients from dying stars and stellar mergers, and assess the activity levels of nearby stars to identify potentially habitable environments," said Haggard, a professor of physics at the Trottier Space Institute.
AXIS is one of two proposals for missions to observe X-ray and far-infrared wavelengths of light from space that were selected for additional review in NASA's new mission class, Probe Explorers.
Over the next year, the AXIS team will receive $5 million to further develop the project. Haggard's expertise in black holes and multi-messenger astrophysics will be pivotal to the AXIS core science mission. Haggard is co-chair of the AXIS Time-Domain and Multi-Messenger Science Working Group, which will lead the hunt for counterparts to distant binary neutron star mergers, fast radio bursts, exotic phenomena like fast X-ray transients, and other exciting targets of opportunity.
NASA plans to make its final selection in 2026. If chosen, the AXIS team will develop and test advanced X-ray imaging technology, enabling the space telescope to detect X-rays from cosmic phenomena such as exploding stars and black holes. It would launch in 2032.
A space probe is an unmanned spacecraft designed to explore outer space beyond Earth's atmosphere. Unlike satellites that orbit planets, space probes are sent on missions to study distant planets, moons, asteroids, comets or even interstellar space. They collect scientific data and transmit it back to Earth, helping scientists learn more about the solar system and beyond.
Probes typically carry instruments to measure things like temperature, radiation, magnetic fields and surface composition. They can also capture images or send signals back to Earth to help map out space phenomena that would otherwise be impossible to observe from our planet.
AXIS is designed to be 10 times more sensitive than the Chandra X-ray Observatory, allowing it to peer deeper into the cosmos than ever before. By capturing X-rays emitted from hot cosmic processes, AXIS would help scientists trace the origins of galaxies and study the characteristics of early black holes.
