Tools for tomorrow’s science

Promising science instrument technologies sometimes languish in a ‘Catch 22’ situation: their missions are not selected due to technological immaturity, while the technologies in question are not developed further because their missions were not selected. ESA’s new cross-cutting initiative on Future Instruments Technologies aims to break this logjam, interacting with the Agency’s science advisory bodies and lead technology experts to select key technology areas offering potential breakthroughs for a number of future science topics. The eventual aim is to select three technologies annually and develop them up to TRL 5, giving Europe a unique portfolio of science technologies ready for mission adoption.