NASA ASTRA White Paper : A Chandra Successor in the 2030s

Abstract

Chandra established that soft X-ray spectral imaging with approximately 1 arcsec angular resolution is an essential tool for almost every area of astrophysics, from the early Universe to ice chemistry in protoplanetary disks. While Chandra continues to deliver groundbreaking science, it lacks the sensitivity to be the counterpart to JWST, Roman, Rubin, LISA, ngVLA, ALMA, IceCube, NewAthena, ELT, and other upcoming large facilities. Here we highlight the scientific potential of a Chandra successor with >10x higher sensitivity and >50x survey speed. While the scientific reach of such a mission is very broad, we showcase four high-priority science questions that require these capabilities -- How did supermassive black holes form?, How does stellar and AGN feedback work in galaxies?, How does high-energy stellar activity affect exoplanet atmospheres? and, How do black holes merge? A Chandra successor in the 2030s would also demonstrate the X-ray mirror technology for a future flagship and sustain the US high energy astrophysics workforce until that flagship launches. We outline the science-instrument trade space by sketching three missions based on the NASA Probe concept study report for the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS): AXIS-Deep, AXIS-Classic, and AXIS-Fast, highlighting a breakthrough science case for each and listing others that drive the design.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{reynolds2026nasa,
  title = {{NASA ASTRA White Paper : A Chandra Successor in the 2030s}},
  author = {C. S. Reynolds and E. Hodges-Kluck and E. A. Kara and M. Koss and K. Madsen and E. Miller and B. Williams and S. Allen and M. Bautz and K. Burdge and N. Cappelluti and B. Cenko and L. Corrales and A. Falcone and A. Foord and D. Haggard and L. Lopez and R. Mushotzky and A. Ptak and H. Russell and S. Safi-Harb and K. Stassun},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.00475},
  eprint = {2610.00475},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.00475},
  note = {CC BY-NC-SA 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - NASA ASTRA White Paper : A Chandra Successor in the 2030s
AU  - C. S. Reynolds
AU  - E. Hodges-Kluck
AU  - E. A. Kara
AU  - M. Koss
AU  - K. Madsen
AU  - E. Miller
AU  - B. Williams
AU  - S. Allen
AU  - M. Bautz
AU  - K. Burdge
AU  - N. Cappelluti
AU  - B. Cenko
AU  - L. Corrales
AU  - A. Falcone
AU  - A. Foord
AU  - D. Haggard
AU  - L. Lopez
AU  - R. Mushotzky
AU  - A. Ptak
AU  - H. Russell
AU  - S. Safi-Harb
AU  - K. Stassun
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.00475
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.00475
AB  - Chandra established that soft X-ray spectral imaging with approximately 1 arcsec angular resolution is an essential tool for almost every area of astrophysics, from the early Universe to ice chemistry in protoplanetary disks. While Chandra continues to deliver groundbreaking science, it lacks the sensitivity to be the counterpart to JWST, Roman, Rubin, LISA, ngVLA, ALMA, IceCube, NewAthena, ELT, and other upcoming large facilities. Here we highlight the scientific potential of a Chandra successor with >10x higher sensitivity and >50x survey speed. While the scientific reach of such a mission is very broad, we showcase four high-priority science questions that require these capabilities -- How did supermassive black holes form?, How does stellar and AGN feedback work in galaxies?, How does high-energy stellar activity affect exoplanet atmospheres? and, How do black holes merge? A Chandra successor in the 2030s would also demonstrate the X-ray mirror technology for a future flagship and sustain the US high energy astrophysics workforce until that flagship launches. We outline the science-instrument trade space by sketching three missions based on the NASA Probe concept study report for the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS): AXIS-Deep, AXIS-Classic, and AXIS-Fast, highlighting a breakthrough science case for each and listing others that drive the design.
ER  -

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