The Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS)

The Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS), a concept recently submitted to NASA’s Astrophysics Probe Explorer competition, will offer low-background, arcsecond-resolution imaging in the 0.3–10 keV band across a 450-arcmin2 field of view, with an effective area at 1 keV of at least 4200 cm². AXIS will bring X-ray astronomy back to the forefront of modern mainstream astrophysics, reaching equivalent depths in X-rays to many of the major facilities of the 2030’s (e.g., JWST, Roman, Rubin, ngVLA, LISA) to address the most important questions identified by the Astro2020 Decadal Survey. Here, we present an update on the status of AXIS.