GEOspace X-ray imager (GEO-X)

GEOspace X-ray imager (GEO-X) is a small satellite mission aiming at visualization of the Earth's magnetosphere by X-rays and revealing dynamic couplings between solar wind and the magnetosphere. In-situ spacecraft have revealed various phenomena in the magnetosphere. X-ray astronomy satellite observations recently discovered soft X-ray emissions originating from the magnetosphere. We are developing GEO-X by integrating innovative technologies of a wide field of view (FOV) X-ray instrument and a small satellite for deep space exploration. The satellite combines a Cubesat and a hybrid kick motor, which can produce a large delta v to increase the altitude of the orbit to about 30 to 60 R_E from a relatively low-altitude (e.g., geo transfer orbit) piggyback launch. GEO-X carries a wide FOV (5 × 5 deg) and a good spatial resolution (10 arcmin) X-ray (0.3 to 2 keV) imaging spectrometer using a micro-machined X-ray telescope and a CMOS detector system combined with an optical blocking filter. We aim to launch the satellite around the solar maximum of solar cycle 25.