The X-IFU is a revolutionary X-ray spectrometer, one of the two instruments of the European Space Agency’s future space telescope, NewAthena. It will observe with X-ray eyes, the hot and energetic Universe, a world of clusters of galaxies, black holes, and exploding stars.
A major milestone has been reached beginning of October 2025 in the development of the Warm Front-End Electronics (WFEE) for […]
Image above : The CryoAC demonstration prototype integrated in the detectors flange of the Focal Plane Assembly Demonstration Model 1.1. […]
SRON is responsible for building the camera for the X-IFU imaging spectrometer onboard the NewAthena X-ray space telescope. A latest […]
"By improving spectral and angular resolutions, with such a large effective area, NewAthena X-IFU will represent a major step for X-ray astronomy."
Jiri Svoboda
Astronomer at the Astronomic Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences
"Every major leap in our observing capabilities in the past has led to unexpected discoveries, and I hope nature will not fail to surprise us also this time around."
Aurora Simionescu
Co-PI & Research Scientist at SRON, Netherlands
"Once NewAthena X-IFU will be launched, observation of the sky will be taken to a whole new level. The instrument should be able to reveal the origin of the universe!"
Teresa Mineo
Physicist at INAF, Italy
"X‑IFU will let us listen to the heartbeat of the hot Universe and will turn the high‑energy Universe into a resolved, interpretable landscape—revealing what was once invisible."
Maria Teresa Ceballos
CSIC Researcher, Astrophysicist, Instituto de Física de Cantabria (IFCA)
"X‑IFU delivers ultra‑clear X‑ray vision and detailed spectra in every pixel, revealing how galaxies, clusters, and black holes evolve. Powered by cryogenic detectors and Athena's large telescope, it's made possible by a tightly integrated, global collaboration driving the future of X‑ray astronomy."
Pourya Khosropanah
XIFU/NL Project Manager, Instrument Science Group SRON Netherlands Institutes for Space Research
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