The HEROIX Broadband X-Ray Space Telescope Mission Concept

Nick Thomas; Chien-Ting Chen; Mike Baysinger; Steve Bongiorno; Thomas E Brooks; Patrick Champey; Casey DeRoo; James David; Ben Diedrich; Kirtan Dixit; Steve Ehlert; Leo Fabisinski; Rebekah Frederick; Jay Garcia; Danielle Gurgew; Kouichi Hagino; Mark Ibekwe; John Inness; Phil Kaaret; Ravi Kannan; W Peter Maksym; Hironori Matsumoto; John Morley; Koji Mori; Kazuhiro Nakazawa; Panini Singam; David Smith; Benjamin H Stolz; Doug Swartz; Tadayuki Takahashi; Shin'ichiro Takeda; Dan Thomas; Sarah Triana; Takeshi G Tsuru; Yoshihiro Ueda; Shin Watanabe

NASA NTRS · 20260005967

The HEROIX Broadband X-Ray Space Telescope Mission Concept

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Abstract

The High EneRgy Observatory for Imaging X-rays (HEROIX) Medium-Class Mission concept envisions a next-generation broadband X-ray observatory designed to meet the astrophysics community’s need for high-angular-resolution studies of the Cosmic X-ray Background. Building on the science legacy of NASA’s NuSTAR mission and more than 30 years of advances in replicated NiCo shell technology at NASA Marshall, HEROIX proposes a space observatory comprising four co-aligned telescopes achieving 5 arcsecond half-power diameter (HPD) angular resolution. This capability, approached by the resolution demonstrated in the FOXSI-4 sounding rocket mission and under development through the SuperHERO balloon mission, will be extended to energies up to 80 keV through multilayer coatings. Marshall’s inhouse precision optics manufacturing enables an integrated effective area of 380 cm² at 30 keV, which, combined with high-resolution optics, opens new windows into extreme astrophysical non-thermal processes.

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Nick Thomas, Chien-Ting Chen, Mike Baysinger, Steve Bongiorno, Thomas E Brooks, Patrick Champey, Casey DeRoo, James David, Ben Diedrich, Kirtan Dixit, Steve Ehlert, Leo Fabisinski, Rebekah Frederick, Jay Garcia, Danielle Gurgew, Kouichi Hagino, Mark Ibekwe, John Inness, Phil Kaaret, Ravi Kannan, W Peter Maksym, Hironori Matsumoto, John Morley, Koji Mori, Kazuhiro Nakazawa, Panini Singam, David Smith, Benjamin H Stolz, Doug Swartz, Tadayuki Takahashi, Shin'ichiro Takeda, Dan Thomas, Sarah Triana, Takeshi G Tsuru, Yoshihiro Ueda, Shin Watanabe. The HEROIX Broadband X-Ray Space Telescope Mission Concept. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20260005967

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High EneRgy Observatory for Imaging X-rays (HEROIX) Mission Concept

The High EneRgy Observatory for Imaging X-rays (HEROIX) is a next-generation broadband X-ray space telescope concept under development as a Medium-Class Explorer mission. Building on more than three decades of replicated NiCo shell technology at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, HEROIX will deliver 5 arcsecond half-power-diameter imaging resolution in the hard X-ray band. The observatory will incorporate four co-aligned telescopes with advanced multilayer coatings, extending the bandpass into the hard X-ray regime and providing an integrated effective area of 380 cm² at 30 keV. A suite of focal plane detectors will enable imaging capability throughout its 1–80 keV bandpass. This combination of angular resolution and high-energy coverage will open new windows into non-thermal processes in extreme astrophysical environments. HEROIXwill deliver transformative science, advancing the astrophysics community’s understanding of supernova physics, the X-ray binary population of the Galactic Center, accretion-driven galaxy evolution, and the origin of the Cosmic X-ray Background.

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Next-Generation Hard X-ray Missions: SuperHERO and HEROIX

High-energy X-ray observations have transformed our understanding of astrophysical systems where non-thermal processes dominate, from shock-accelerated particles in supernova remnants to relativistic jets and hot coronae in active galactic nuclei. NuSTAR’s pioneering focusing images of the hard X-ray sky have demonstrated the immense scientific potential of this band, while also highlighting how limited angular resolution constrains our ability to fully characterize complex physical processes in faint extended sources and resolving faint sources in crowded sky regions. In this presentation, I will discuss a pathway to overcome these challenges through NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s replicated NiCo full-shell X-ray mirror technology. Specifically, I will discuss the SuperHERO hard X-ray telescope to achieve better than 10-arcsecond half-power diameter (HPD) angular resolution on a balloon flight observing the Crab Nebula, and the High EneRgy Observatory for Imaging X-rays (HEROIX) Medium-Class Mission concept to achieve an integrated effective area of 570 cm2 at 30 keV with 5 arcsec HPD angular resolution.

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SuperHERO X-ray Telescope Balloon Mission

The SuperHERO hard X-ray telescope will observe extended sources at unprecedented imaging resolution, revealing the origins of non-thermal emission in extreme astrophysical environments. Employing NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s replicated NiCo full-shell X-ray mirror technology to achieve better than 10-arcsecond half-power diameter (HPD) angular resolution on a balloon platform, SuperHERO consists of seven identical, co-aligned telescopes with a combined effective area of 45 cm² at 30 keV. SuperHERO was selected in the APRA 2023 call as a five-year mission, with an inaugural two-day flight scheduled from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, in the fall of 2028. For its initial target, SuperHERO will observe the Crab pulsar wind nebula, localizing hard X-ray emission. Mission development is currently underway, with updates and status to be provided in this presentation.

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