Mission concept · Astrophysics Observatories · Under study
Athena
ESA's next great X-ray observatory — designed to study the hot, energetic universe, from the gas that binds galaxy clusters to the black holes that shaped galaxies, at far higher sensitivity than today's X-ray telescopes.
Highlights
- ›Europe's next flagship X-ray observatory
Mission goals
- ›Study the hot and energetic universe in X-rays
- ›Map the hot gas of galaxy clusters and the growth of black holes
Technology
A large X-ray telescope with a high-resolution imaging spectrometer.
Status & uncertainties
Reformulated ('NewAthena') to fit a reduced cost envelope; adoption and launch date are not yet fixed.
Knowledge connections
- Member of groupAstrophysics Observatories
- Associated withESA
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- ESAEuropean Space Agency
European missions, observatories, and space science imagery.