ESA Announces Finalists for Next Medium Science Mission

The European Space Agency (ESA) has narrowed down the shortlist for its next medium science mission to three finalists: M-Matisse, Plasma Observatory, and Theseus. These missions aim to shed light on the habitability and evolution of Mars, explore the plasma environment around Earth, and study high-energy, short-lived events across the cosmos, respectively. The selected mission will join ESA's fleet of science missions and is expected to be chosen by mid-2026. Additionally, ESA has endorsed a rescoped version of the Athena mission, now called NewAthena, which is designed to study the hot and energetic Universe using X-ray light.