Community Workshop: The Mission to Enceladus – The ESA L4 Mission

The community workshop at ESTEC focused on “The Mission to Enceladus – The ESA L4 Mission” will be held at ESTEC December 8-10, 2026.

The workshop will have a dual focus. Firstly, ESA will provide the community with updates on the study results conducted with the support of the L4 Expert Committee, the L4 Payload Working Group and industrial partners. Secondly, the community will have the opportunity to present their concepts and ideas for L4 payloads.

This workshop marks our transition into the next phase of the L4 preparation.

Given the long timeline of the mission with a landing on Enceladus in the second half of the 2050s we encourage the active participation of scientists in early career stages. A limited number of travel bursaries of 500 Euro each will be available for students and PhD candidates who will present at the workshop.

To apply for this, first register for the workshop and then click ‘Yes’ to the Student travel bursary question on the abstract submission form.

Registration and abstract submission close on 13 September 2026 at midnight.

Given the strong interest we expect, it may only be possible to confirm in-person participation by the end of September. The workshop will be fully hybrid, so online participation will be available in all cases.

One aspect that is particularly important to us is engaging the next generation of researchers. With an Enceladus landing envisioned for the second half of the 2050s, many of today’s early-career scientists will be the ones leading the science when we arrive. We therefore strongly encourage participation from students and early-career researchers.

To support this, a limited number of €500 travel bursaries from ESA Space Science will be available for students and PhD candidates presenting at the workshop. To apply, simply register for the workshop and select “Yes” to the Student Travel Bursary question during abstract submission.