Today, ESO is launching the Expanding Horizons website to provide information about the selection process for ESO’s next programme, including the timeline for it, and how it will work. ESO's next programme should address scientific challenges in the 2040s that cannot be tackled with ESO’s  current facilities, like VLT, VLTI, and ALMA, and those under construction (the ELT) or planned (like the CTA). The goal of reaching out to the community is to encourage inclusive and original input, outside-of-the box thinking, and to collect a broad range of ideas. ESO guarantees a transparent and fair assessment for all proposals. With this open and inclusive process, ESO also wants to anchor its mission of serving the community even deeper into its way of working.  Proposals will be accepted as of the third quarter of 2026, but in the run-up to that date, ESO will offer in-depth workshops for astronomers and engineers around a broad variety of science topics and technologies that could address the scientific challenges of the 2040s. These workshops will encourage open dialogue and debate, which in turn will help develop ideas for ESO’s next programme.  

Any questions regarding the Expanding Horizons process to identify ESO’s next programme should be sent to ESO via the Contact form on the website.