The Lazuli Space Observatory: Architecture and Capabilities

@article{roy2026lazuli,
  title = {{The Lazuli Space Observatory: Architecture and Capabilities}},
  author = {Arpita Roy and Stuart I. Feldman and Peter Klupar and John DiPalma and S. Perlmutter and Ewan S. Douglas and Greg Aldering and Gábor Fürész and Patrick Ingraham and Guðmundur Stefánsson and Douglas Kelly and Fan Yang and T. Wevers and Nicole Arulanantham and J. Lasker and M. Rigault and Everett A. Schlawin and Sander Zandbergen and S. Pete Worden and Ramya M. Anche and Heejoo Choi and Ian J. M. Crossfield and Kevin Derby and Jerry Edelstein and Mike Eiklenborg and Suvi Gezari and Paul Giuliano and Justin Hom and Taylor J. Hoyt and Hyukmo Kang and Daewook Kim and Keerthi Kunnumkai and Leander Lacroix and Jared R. Males and Thomas J. Maccarone and Kian Milani and Timothy N. Miller and Kelsey Lynn Miller and Pierre Nicolas and A. Palmese and Jason S. Pero and Laurent A. Pueyo and Stephanie Rinaldi and David J. Sand and Peter Schneider and Sanchit Sabhlok and Arfon M. Smith and Irina I. Stefan and Saraswathi Kalyani Subramanian and Kyle Van Gorkom and Andre F. Wong and Jaegun Yoo and Md. Abdullah Al Zaman},
  journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/aea090},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea090},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - The Lazuli Space Observatory: Architecture and Capabilities
AU  - Arpita Roy
AU  - Stuart I. Feldman
AU  - Peter Klupar
AU  - John DiPalma
AU  - S. Perlmutter
AU  - Ewan S. Douglas
AU  - Greg Aldering
AU  - Gábor Fürész
AU  - Patrick Ingraham
AU  - Guðmundur Stefánsson
AU  - Douglas Kelly
AU  - Fan Yang
AU  - T. Wevers
AU  - Nicole Arulanantham
AU  - J. Lasker
AU  - M. Rigault
AU  - Everett A. Schlawin
AU  - Sander Zandbergen
AU  - S. Pete Worden
AU  - Ramya M. Anche
AU  - Heejoo Choi
AU  - Ian J. M. Crossfield
AU  - Kevin Derby
AU  - Jerry Edelstein
AU  - Mike Eiklenborg
AU  - Suvi Gezari
AU  - Paul Giuliano
AU  - Justin Hom
AU  - Taylor J. Hoyt
AU  - Hyukmo Kang
AU  - Daewook Kim
AU  - Keerthi Kunnumkai
AU  - Leander Lacroix
AU  - Jared R. Males
AU  - Thomas J. Maccarone
AU  - Kian Milani
AU  - Timothy N. Miller
AU  - Kelsey Lynn Miller
AU  - Pierre Nicolas
AU  - A. Palmese
AU  - Jason S. Pero
AU  - Laurent A. Pueyo
AU  - Stephanie Rinaldi
AU  - David J. Sand
AU  - Peter Schneider
AU  - Sanchit Sabhlok
AU  - Arfon M. Smith
AU  - Irina I. Stefan
AU  - Saraswathi Kalyani Subramanian
AU  - Kyle Van Gorkom
AU  - Andre F. Wong
AU  - Jaegun Yoo
AU  - Md. Abdullah Al Zaman
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/13
JO  - The Astrophysical Journal
DO  - 10.3847/1538-4357/aea090
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea090
AB  - The Lazuli Space Observatory is a 3 m aperture astronomical facility designed for rapid-response observations and precision astrophysics across visible to near-IR wavelengths (400–1700 nm bandpass). An off-axis, freeform telescope delivers diffraction-limited image quality (Strehl >0.8 at 633 nm) to three instruments across a wide, flat focal plane. The three instruments provide complementary capabilities; the Wide-field Context Camera (WCC) delivers multiband imaging over a 35 ′ × 12 ′ footprint with high-cadence photometry; the Integral-field Spectrograph (IFS) provides continuous 400–1700 nm spectroscopy at R ∼ 100–500 for stable spectrophotometry; and the ExtraSolar Coronagraph (ESC) enables high-contrast imaging expected to reach raw contrasts of 10 ⁻⁸ and postprocessed contrasts approaching 10 ⁻⁹ . Operating from a 3:1 lunar-resonant orbit, Lazuli will respond to targets of opportunity in under four hours—a programmatic requirement designed to enable routine temporal responsiveness that is unprecedented for a space telescope of this size. Lazuli’s technical capabilities are shaped around three broad science areas: (1) time-domain and multimessenger astronomy, (2) stars and planets, and (3) cosmology. These capabilities enable a potent mix of science spanning gravitational-wave counterpart characterization, fast-evolving transients, Type Ia supernova cosmology, high-contrast exoplanet imaging, and spectroscopy of exoplanet atmospheres. While these areas guide the observatory design, Lazuli is conceived as a general-purpose facility with open time for the global community. We describe the observatory architecture and capabilities in the preliminary design phase, with science operations anticipated following a rapid development cycle from concept to launch; quoted performance specifications reflect current design requirements and modeling predictions, pending on-orbit verification.
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
ER  -