ATHENA is one of the large mission candidates for the ESA Cosmic Vision program 2015-2025, together with JUICE and NGO. It is competing for entering a definition phase, and a launch as early as 2022. Athena is an observatory-class X-ray mission designed to provide a major leap forward in high-energy observational capabilities, making it possible to address a suite of key questions in modern astrophysics.

This one-day workshop is intended to provide the interested italian community with an update on the characteristics and performance of the Athena mission and highlight the wide range of science topics that Athena will address.

Workshop wep page: www.iasfbo.inaf.it/events/athena-2012/