Science & Exploration
11/06/2026
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On 10–11 June, representatives from European Space Agency (ESA) Member States met in Tenerife to make far-reaching decisions about the future of ESA’s Science Programme. Their decisions to extend current missions and adopt the next ‘fast-class’ mission, Arrakihs, underscores European leadership in, and long-term commitment to, space science.
ESA’s world-leading Science Programme transforms bold ideas from European scientists into ambitious space science missions. It is community-driven, overseen by a Science Programme Committee that meets around three times per year.
The Committee includes representatives from each of ESA’s 23 Member States, ensuring that all countries have an equal say in major decisions that decide the future of European space science.
ESA’s Director of Science, Professor Carole Mundell says: “Being motivated by the scientific community means that we can build world-leading space missions that really meet the needs of European scientists. Our aim is to provide the best missions possible to encourage technological innovation and scientific discoveries across our Member States.”
The decisions taken and discussions held by the Science Programme Committee this week will guide the Programme throughout the 2030s and beyond.
13 missions extended
ESA leads or co-leads ten active space science missions, and is involved in six more led by international partners.
An initial mission operations phase typically lasts up to five years, depending on the mission’s scientific goals. Extensions beyond this period depend on the ability of the mission to continue delivering novel science.
The Science Programme Committee discussed the extension of the 13 missions that are due to end their current science phase before the end of 2026. It endorsed extensions for all 13, underlining the potential of these missions to support a wide range of scientific communities across Europe and beyond.
In alphabetical order, these missions are: BepiColombo, Cheops, Einstein Probe, Hinode, Hubble, IRIS, Mars Express, Proba-3, SOHO, Solar Orbiter, Webb, XMM-Newton and XRISM.
ESA’s past, current and future space science missions
The extension is particularly important for Solar Orbiter, an ESA-led mission to study the Sun up close. Launched in 2020, Solar Orbiter is currently giving humankind its first views of the Sun’s poles. The extension will allow the mission to continue going to higher latitudes, revealing the Sun from new angles, and enabling completely new discoveries.
Missions that will still be operating in, or are yet to begin, their initial science phase at the end of 2029, including Euclid, Juice and Smile, were not considered for extension during this week’s meeting.
Arrakihs – ESA’s next galactic archaeologist
On 10 June, the Science Programme Committee approved the adoption of ESA’s second ‘fast-class’ mission, Arrakihs. This means that ESA and its Member States commit to building and launching the mission.
Arrakihs will capture the faint light from the haloes of stars and gas that surround galaxies to answer questions about cosmic history. Like other fast-class missions, it is based on adapting existing technology for novel science, and Member States – particularly Spain, in the case of Arrakihs – play a leading role in developing the mission. Arrakihs is expected to launch by the end of 2030.
Find out more about the adoption of Arrakihs in our dedicated article.
Plasma Observatory – sailing the shores of the cosmic ocean
Medium-class missions form the backbone of ESA’s Science Programme. Those currently flying include Solar Orbiter and Euclid, ESA’s dark Universe detective.
Back in 2023, the space science community narrowed down the shortlist for the next medium-class mission to three finalists. Since then, scientists and engineers have been carefully considering all three in terms of science, technical feasibility and how well they complement other missions.
Medium science mission selection process
Based on this assessment, ESA has proposed to the Science Programme Committee that Plasma Observatory be selected. The Committee has taken note of this recommendation and will make the formal decision at the next meeting in November 2026.
Plasma Observatory would study how electrically charged particles (plasma) from the Sun interact with the protective magnetic bubble (the magnetosphere) that surrounds Earth. In particular, it would look at how the plasma gains energy through its interaction with Earth’s magnetic field, how this energy enters and moves around the magnetosphere, and how it spreads to other particles around Earth.
Previous missions, including ESA’s Cluster, found that these interactions happen on different scales in space and time – from a few kilometres up to tens of thousands, and from milliseconds to minutes. But Cluster – made up of four spacecraft – could only study one scale at a time. Plasma Observatory would be a constellation of seven spacecraft, making it the first mission capable of studying the interactions on different scales of space and time simultaneously, to give us a detailed understanding of what exactly is happening and how the scales are connected.
Plasma makes up 99% of the visible Universe, and the transfer of energy within it governs how pretty much everything in the Universe works. Plasma Observatory is using the magnetosphere as a laboratory for understanding the wider Universe, including the Sun, exploding stars and distant galaxies. Find out more about Plasma Observatory here.
Notes for editors
The Science Programme Committee convened at the Instituto Astrofísico de Canarias, Tenerife, on 10–11 June 2026.
The Science Programme is part of ESA’s mandatory activities, which means that all Member States contribute and participate. This provides budget stability and allows long-term planning of the cadence and types of missions to enable European leadership in frontier science and technology.
The Programme has a long and successful history, with missions developed through planning cycles that last 10–20 years. The first cycle was Horizon 2000 (1985–2005). This was followed by Horizon 2000+ (2005–2015), leading to the current cycle, Cosmic Vision. The future is defined by Voyage 2050. Plasma Observatory would be the first medium-class mission in Voyage 2050.
ESA’s Science Programme is overseen and guided by the Science Programme Committee, established by the ESA Council and representing all Member States equally.
For the selection of new missions, scientific advice and recommendations are provided to ESA by the Space Science Advisory Committee, which is guided by working groups made up of external scientists specialised in different topics. ESA then coordinates with the Science Programme Committee for approval on the content of the Programme.
For more information, please contact
ESA Media Relations
media@esa.int
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