Mission Schedule

The mission Study restarted in November 2023 following the endorsement of the NewAthena mission concept by the ESA Science Program Commitee. Payload design activities are continuing, while industrial activities are baselined tor resume in spring 2024. Mission "Adoption" is scheduled for early 2027. This is the process by which ESA confirms the completion of the mission definition process, and verifies that the mission design and the development of key technologies are sufficiently mature for the mission implementation to be able to start.

 The mission implementation phase is estimated to last ≤9.5 years, leading to a prospective launch date in early 2037.