NASA has selected the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) mission, co-led by McGill University professor Daryl Haggard, for the next stage of its $1 billion space probe competition.
“Throughout its mission, AXIS will focus on observing black holes dating from the early Universe, as well as analyzing their origins and their influence on the formation of galaxies. In addition to tracking explosive transients from dying stars and star mergers, AXIS will evaluate the activity levels of nearby stars to discover potentially habitable environments,” explains Daryl Haggard, professor of physics at the Institute. Trottier space at McGill.
AXIS is one of two proposed missions to observe X-rays and far-infrared radiation emitted by light in space. These were selected and reviewed by NASA as part of its new category of missions, Probe Explorers.
Over the next year, the AXIS mission team will receive $5 million to continue the development of the project. Daryl Haggard’s expertise in black holes and multimessenger astrophysics will be crucial to the primary science mission. Professor Haggard is co-chair of the AXIS Time-Domain and Multi-Messenger Science Working Groupwhich will lead the search for optical counterparts of distant binary neutron star mergers, fast radio bursts, exceptional phenomena (e.g. fast X-ray transients), and other exciting phenomena.
NASA plans to make its final choice in 2026. If chosen, the AXIS mission team will develop and test advanced X-ray imaging technology allowing the space telescope to detect X-rays emitted by cosmic phenomena such as supernovas and black holes. The mission would then begin in 2032.
A space probe is an unmanned spacecraft designed to explore outer space. Unlike satellites that orbit planets, space probes are sent on missions to study distant planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and even interstellar space. They collect scientific data and transmit it to Earth, helping scientists learn more about the solar system and beyond.
Probes are typically equipped with instruments to measure temperature, radiation levels, magnetic fields and surface composition. They can also capture images or send signals to Earth to help map space phenomena that would be impossible to observe from our planet.
Designed to be 10 times more sensitive than the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the AXIS telescope will peer into the depths of the cosmos like never before. By capturing X-rays emitted by high-energy cosmic rays, the AXIS telescope would help scientists trace the origins of galaxies and study the characteristics of primordial black holes.
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