Study Schedule

The meeting of the ESA Science Program Commitee in June 2022 deliberated that Athena will not be adopted, because the estimated Cost-at-Completion to ESA exceeds the budget allocated for an L-class mission. The observatory addressing the "Hot and Energetic Universe" science case is therefore undergoing a design-to-cost exercise, aiming at defining a mission profile consistent with a strict cst cap while preserving the flagship nature of the mission.