Future astrophysics space missions in gamma ray astronomy

Abstract

An overview about presently approved space missions in gamma ray astronomy is given. Special emphasis is devoted to the Gamma Ray Observatory GRO of NASA - a multi-instrument observatory which covers more than 5 orders of magnitude in photon energy from about 100 keV to 30 GeV. Significant progress in the exploration and understanding of the gamma ray sky can be expected in the very near future. The next generation of gamma ray missions will have to focus on high resolution spectroscopy, on high resolution imaging and on broad band studies of gamma ray burst sources.