BHEX Mini

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) captured the first image of a black hole in 2017, providing direct confirmation of the existence of black holes. The Black Hole Explorer Satellite (BHEX) is an ambitious successor to EHT which seeks to directly image the photon ring of a black hole, possibly constraining the spin of a black hole for the first time. BHEX Mini is a satellite mission proposal led by Brown University. BHEX Mini will be a radio satellite in LEO which will conduct an 86 GHz all-sky survey of >25 secondary science targets, enabling population studies of supermassive black hole masses, spins, and luminosities. By virtue of orbiting in LEO, BHEX Mini would enable rapid and dense interferometric coverage for Sgr A* & M87 at 86 GHz, advancing direct imaging of the photon ring. If successful, BHEX Mini would also be the first satellite to achieve Space-Space VLBI by co-observing targets with BHEX in MEO.