NOTE: This webpage is not currently maintained. Information here is for archival purposes only. For up-to-date information please go tohttps://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/athena/
NASA-ESA Athena Study
NASA is working with ESA to define the possible NASA contribution to this ESA-led X-ray mission.
One U.S. scientist, Randall Smith of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been selected for the SST. Robert Petre of GSFC and Michael Garcia of NASA/HQ are ex-officio members. The full membership of ESA's Athena SST is given in the list below (see http://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/athena/team-membership).
In November 2015, the Athena Science Study Team re-opened applications for membership to the Community Working Groups. US scientists should apply directly via the ASST web site (rather than via NASA) by the Dec 31, 2015 deadline. More information is available on ESA Athena websites for both the Athena community working group structure and membership as well as the application form.
In July 2014, NASA issued a Dear Colleague Letter asking for community participation in the ESA Athena Science Study Team.
In November 2014, NASA issued a second Dear Colleague Letter asking for community participation in the Athena Science Study Team Working Groups.
NASA Missions Study What May Be a 1-In-10,000-Year Gamma-ray Burst
On Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022, a pulse of intense radiation swept through the solar system so exceptional that astronomers quickly dubbed it the BOAT – the brightest of all time. The source was a gamma-ray burst (GRB), the most powerful class of explosions in the universe. Read more.
