11/06/2026 (Agence Europe) – Representatives of the Member States of the European Space Agency (ESA) decided to extend 13 scientific missions, ESA announced on Thursday 11 June. Accordingly, the Science Programme Committee examined the extension of the 13 missions whose current scientific phase is due to end before the close of 2026 and approved their extension. These are BepiColombo, Cheops, Einstein Probe, Hinode, Hubble, IRIS, Mars Express, Proba-3, SOHO, Solar Orbiter, Webb, XMM-Newton and XRISM. On 10 June, the Science Programme Committee also approved the adoption of Arrakihs, ESA’s second “fast-class” mission, which will capture the faint light from the haloes of stars and gas that surround galaxies to answer questions about cosmic history. The launch of Arrakihs is scheduled for late 2030. (CG)