Gravitational wave detector LISA officially adopted as ESA space mission

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) opens up a new part of the gravitational wave spectrum as the first space-based detector.  It is now officially adopted by the European Space Agency (ESA) as one of its large class missions. Launch is scheduled for the mid-2030s. The Netherlands plays a large role in the development of hardware and software. 

First XRISM images released

With the release of its first two images, JAXA’s X-ray telescope XRISM has officially reached the milestone of First Light. The images show the galaxy cluster Abell 2319 and supernova remnant N132D, demonstrating XRISM’s large field-of-view and high spectral resolution. SRON has developed the filter wheel and an X-ray source used to calibrate the energy scale of the Resolve instrument.