Astronet

Astronet is a consortium of European funding agencies and research organizations established to coordinate long-term strategic planning for the advancement of astronomy in Europe. The consortium was launched in 2005 to align infrastructure and policy development across Europe through a shared science vision and roadmap.

Initially funded as a European Research Area Network (ERA-NET) supported by the European Commission, Astronet became a self-sustaining collaboration after 2015. It includes major organisations such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO). Its first Science Vision was published in 2007. This was followed by an Infrastructure Roadmap in 2008. These documents helped inform major projects like the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). A more recent roadmap, published in 2022, sets strategic goals for European astronomy through 2035, highlighting projects such as the Einstein Telescope and the European Solar Telescope.