ESA Opens Call for LEO Research on Uncrewed Autonomous Platforms
The European Space Agency (ESA) has released a new Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for scientific research using uncrewed, autonomous and free flying platforms in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The call is available via ESA’s Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP).
The AO is part of ESA’s Explore2040 strategy and aims to promote high quality scientific research that takes advantage of microgravity and the space environment. The call places particular emphasis on research in the fields of Biology and Physical Sciences.
The opportunity is open to the scientific community and covers both:
- Exploration focused science, supporting future human exploration missions beyond Earth, and
- Exploration enabled science, where space infrastructure enables breakthrough research across scientific disciplines.
The proposed research activities will be carried out on autonomous LEO platforms operating independently of the International Space Station (ISS), offering a flexible and future oriented research environment.
ESA encourages delegations and stakeholders to disseminate information about this opportunity within their national scientific and research communities.
- Submission deadline: 27 May 2026, 23:59 CET
- Submission platform: ESA Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP)
- More information and proposal submission: ESA Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP) – Science on Uncrewed Autonomous Free Flying Platforms in LEO
