Motivated by efforts to return humanity to the Moon, three cases are reviewed for X-ray astronomy from the lunar surface: (i) facilitation of ambitious engineering designs including high-throughput telescopes, long focal length optics and X-ray interferometery; (ii) occultation studies and the gain they enable in astrometric precision; and (iii) multi-messenger time-domain coordinated observations. The potential benefits of, and challenges presented by, operating from the Moon are discussed. Some of these cases have relatively low mass budgets and could be conducted as early pathfinders, while others are more ambitious and will likely need to await improvements in technology or well-developed lunar bases.

This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Astronomy from the Moon: the next decades (part 2)’.

在人类重返月球努力的推动下，回顾了月球表面 X 射线天文学的三个案例：（i）促进雄心勃勃的工程设计，包括高通量望远镜、长焦距光学器件和 X 射线干涉仪； (ii) 掩星研究及其在天体测量精度方面的增益； (iii) 多信使时域协调观测。讨论了在月球上进行操作的潜在好处和挑战。其中一些案例的质量预算相对较低，可以作为早期探路者进行，而另一些案例则更加雄心勃勃，可能需要等待技术的改进或完善的月球基地。

本文是“月球天文学：未来几十年（第 2 部分）”讨论会议的一部分。