MAXIM Pathfinder x-ray interferometry mission

Abstract

The MAXIM Pathfinder (MP) mission is under study as a scientific and technical stepping stone for the full MAXIM X-ray interferometry mission. While full MAXIM will resolve the event horizons of black holes with 0.1 microarcsecond imaging, MP will address scientific and technical issues as a 100 microarcsecond imager with some capabilities to resolve microarcsecond structure. We will present the primary science goals of MP. These include resolving stellar coronae, distinguishing between jets and accretion disks in AGN. This paper will also present the baseline design of MP. We will overview the challenging technical requirements and solutions for formation flying, target acquisition, and metrology.