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| entered_service = <!--date on which the spacecraft entered service, if it did not do so immediately after launch-->
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[[File:Lynx lynx, Luchs 08.JPG|thumb|The telescope design's namesake in the snow]]
[[File:Lynx lynx, Luchs 08.JPG|thumb|The telescope design's namesake in the snow]]
The '''Lynx X-ray Observatory''' is a [[NASA]]-funded [[Large strategic science missions|Large Mission Concept Study]] commissioned as part of the [https://sites.nationalacademies.org/DEPS/astro2020/index.htm 2020 Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics] ("Astro2020"). The Concept Study Phase is complete as of August 2019, and the ''Lynx'' Final Report<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lynxobservatory.com/report|title=Concept Study Report|website=Lynx X-ray Observatory|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-10}}</ref> has been submitted to the Decadal Survey for prioritization. If launched, ''Lynx'' would be the most powerful [[X-ray observatory]] ever developed, enabling several order-of-magnitude advances in capability over the current state-of-the-art ''[[Chandra X-ray Observatory]]'' and ''[[Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics|Athena X-ray Observatory]]''.
The '''Lynx X-ray Observatory''' is a concept study for the next [[X-ray telescope|X-ray space telescope]] mission.<ref name="Lynx home">{{cite web |url=http://wwwastro.msfc.nasa.gov/lynx |title=Lynx - Revealing the Revealing the invisible Universe |last=Swartz |first=Douglas |work=Marshall Space Flight Center |publisher=[[NASA]] |date=2017 |accessdate=2017-10-21 }}</ref> Still a preliminary concept in formulation, it will be presented to the United States [[Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey|Decadal Survey]] in 2019 for a possible selection to NASA's [[Large Strategic Science Missions]]. If funded and developed, ''Lynx'' will be able to detect and characterize extremely faint objects and study physical processes in a very wide range of [[Astrophysics|astrophysical]] settings.
The name [[lynx]] was chosen because the animal is "a symbol of great insight with the ability to see through solid objects to reveal the true nature of things." <ref name='Status 2017'>[https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20170007501.pdf Lynx Mission Concept Status] (PDF). Jessica A. Gaskin, Feryal Özel, Alexey Vikhlinin. NASA.</ref>
==Overview==
==Overview==
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Based on the science goals, the sensitivity required must be 50× better
Based on the science goals, the sensitivity required must be 50× better
than the [[Chandra X-ray Observatory]].<ref name="Gaskin 2017"/><ref name=JAXA>[https://repository.exst.jaxa.jp/dspace/bitstream/a-is/609922/1/SA6000060176.pdf Decadal survey 2020: X-Ray Surveyor –Lynx] (PDF) M. Tashiro, A. Bamba, K. Nakazawa, Y. Ezoe, K. Matsushita, K. Sato, Y. Terada, Y. Yamasaki.</ref><ref>[https://wwwastro.msfc.nasa.gov/xrs/docs/presentations/2017-08-Schattenburg_SPIE.pdf The Lynx Optics Working Group: objectives and current status] - Formal Lynx Optics Requirements. NASA. August 2017.</ref> Some key desired instrument specifications have been identified, and they include a high [[angular resolution]] of 0.5 [[Minute and second of arc|arcsec]] or better, and very high [[spectral resolution]] (R >~ 5000) in the [[X-ray#Soft and hard X-rays|soft band]].<ref name="Gaskin 2017"/> Some of the notional payload are:<ref name='Status 2017'/><ref name="Gaskin 2017"/><ref name=JAXA/>
than the [[Chandra X-ray Observatory]].<ref name="Gaskin 2017"/><ref name=JAXA>[https://repository.exst.jaxa.jp/dspace/bitstream/a-is/609922/1/SA6000060176.pdf Decadal survey 2020: X-Ray Surveyor –Lynx] (PDF) M. Tashiro, A. Bamba, K. Nakazawa, Y. Ezoe, K. Matsushita, K. Sato, Y. Terada, Y. Yamasaki.</ref><ref>[https://wwwastro.msfc.nasa.gov/xrs/docs/presentations/2017-08-Schattenburg_SPIE.pdf The Lynx Optics Working Group: objectives and current status] - Formal Lynx Optics Requirements. NASA. August 2017.</ref> Some key desired instrument specifications have been identified, and they include a high [[angular resolution]] of 0.5 [[Minute and second of arc|arcsec]] or better, and very high [[spectral resolution]] (R >~ 5000) in the [[X-ray#Soft and hard X-rays|soft band]].<ref name="Gaskin 2017"/> Some of the notional payload are:<ref name="Status 2017">[https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20170007501.pdf Lynx Mission Concept Status] (PDF). Jessica A. Gaskin, Feryal Özel, Alexey Vikhlinin. NASA.</ref><ref name="Gaskin 2017"/><ref name=JAXA/>
*Large-area high angular resolution optical assembly
*Large-area high angular resolution optical assembly
*[[File:Lynx X-ray Observatory "Launch" Banner.png|thumb|420x420px|An example of advertising materials created to support the mission concept. ]]High Definition X-ray Imager (Spots)
*[[File:Lynx X-ray Observatory "Launch" Banner.png|thumb|420x420px|An example of advertising materials created to support the mission concept. ]]High Definition X-ray Imager (Spots)
The preliminary configuration is a 3 m diameter × 10 m focal length telescope, but they are also considering a 6 m diameter × 20 m focal length.[8] It still has to be determined the maximum focal length that fits into an Atlas V 551 or Falcon 9 Heavy rocket fairing.[8] The mirror would be built from densely packed thin mirror elements for a 3 m outer diameter with a total collecting area of 2.3 m2. The mirror's mass would be about 200 kg (440 lb).[7][3]
