Overview
As part of Space for Inspiration 2026, ESA’s Business in Space Growth Network (BSGN) invites academic researchers to propose innovative scientific concepts with clear potential to seed future commercial applications in the space-enabled markets.
The Academic Challenges are divided into three distinct Tracks:
- Track #1 – Health & Life Sciences
- Track #2 – Advanced Materials & In‑Space Manufacturing
- Track #3 – Space Resources – Construction Applications
Three finalists per Track will be selected and invited to pitch their proposals during Space for Inspiration 2026, following dedicated pitch‑preparation support. Finalists will receive complimentary access to the conference. One winner per Track will be selected and announced during Space for Inspiration 2026 and will receive tailored in‑kind support from the corresponding BSGN Industry Accelerator Managing Partner to further mature their concept from both a technical and commercial perspective.
Objectives
The Academic Challenges aim to:
- Identify innovative concepts and/or academic research with high future commercialisation potential in key BSGN market segments
- Build bridges between academia and potential future industry stakeholders
- Stimulate the emergence of new commercial pathways aligned with BSGN’s long‑term vision
- Provide selected academic teams with targeted technical and commercial coaching to accelerate maturation
Scope of the Call
Applicants are invited to submit exploratory research ideas, concepts, models, prototypes, or early experimental approaches that:
- Represent frontier, innovative, science‑driven ideas within one of the three BSGN domains.
- Present credible long‑term potential for commercial applications or new market opportunities.
- Are led by PhD‑level researchers or above affiliated with academic institutions based in ESA Member States.
The Call does not require any specific Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at entry. Concepts may be at an early stage, provided their novelty and future market potential is clear.
Webinar
The three BSGN Industry Accelerators will host a dedicated webinar to present each of their Track, providing information on:
- Overview of the Track
- Explanation of Call requirements
- Q&A with prospective applicants
Webinar date: 12 May 2026 - host: ESA, MEDES, the Satellite Applications Catapult and ESRIC
Webinar registration link: https://esait.webex.com/weblink/register/rce2af8c4b848058ad87a8f4df614482f
General inquiries may be directed through the OSIP platform.
Track #1: Health & Life Sciences
The BSGN Health & LifeScience Industry Accelerator are deliberately broad, but projects have to answer critical healthcare challenges.
Topics include but are not limited to:
The most impactful changes in microgravity environment which can help foster your industrial research are the following:
- Different behaviour of living organisms: changes in gene expression, morphological modifications and changes in cellular physiology (e.g. no use of scaffold needed for 3D tissues).
- Proteins/crystal growth: molecule crystals to grow larger and with fewer defects, new polymorphs and morphologies of crystals to be discovered thanks to low sedimentation and diffusion driven by kinetic.
- Organoids and tissue on chip: growth of complex 3D tissue without the help of scaffold or supporting matrix, the high surface tension effects allow to produce more uniform and precise layering, lack of gravity avoid collapsing of fragile structures
- Phase changes for manufacturing processes: study of separation processes on both micro and macroscale eased by low sedimentation.
- Modelling disease model: accelerated model of age-related disorders such as osteoporosis (e.g. bone & muscle loss and immune dysfunction for astronauts).
📌 Good to know: The focus of the call is on addressing terrestrial challenges with strong commercial potential for the terrestrial market. While projects with potential benefits for space exploration are welcome, the Call is not specifically aimed at such initiatives. Projects primarily focused on space exploration will not be considered relevant. However, projects that may indirectly contribute to it in the future can highlight this aspect in the application form.
📌 Projects involving experiments on astronauts are not covered by the programme.
Track #2: Advanced Materials & In-space Manufacturing
We are seeking projects that aim to harness the unique conditions offered by in-space environments, such as reduced gravity, high vacuum, and extreme thermal gradients, to explore novel material processes not achievable on Earth. We welcome ideas that may not yet be ready for deployment in space, but which demonstrate the potential to reshape or disrupt emerging approaches to materials science, manufacturing, and space infrastructure. We are inviting universities, research institutes, and academic consortia across Europe to propose pioneering projects that push the boundaries of materials science and engineering.
Through this call, we are seeking to support investigations that deepen scientific understanding with the goal of accelerating the maturation of innovative technologies for future space and terrestrial applications. We are soliciting proposals across three thematic areas, targeting key stages in material innovation, supply chain development, and enabling technologies required to scale in-space R&D and advance materials sciences through microgravity platforms.
- In-Orbit Materials Discovery and Optimisation
R&D initiatives focused on improving purity, crystallisation, strength, or performance of advanced materials in microgravity. This includes, but is not limited to, semiconductors, composites, superconductors, quantum materials, and functional nanomaterials.
2. In-Orbit Materials Processing and Manufacturing Methods
Research focused on the processes required to manufacture or process materials in orbit. This may include additive manufacturing, deposition, joining, melting and solidification, sintering, curing, feedstock handling, surface processing, or process control.
3. In-Orbit Fabrication of Materials and Components
Research focused on the production of usable materials, feedstocks, or functional components in orbit, where the emphasis is on the fabricated output itself. This may include structural or functional parts, coatings, films, fibres, optical elements, electronic or photonic materials, energy-related materials, or precursor forms for later use.
Key objectives include advancing fundamental knowledge of material properties in microgravity, developing new manufacturing techniques tailored for in-orbit and lunar environments, and identifying processes that could enable sustainable, reliable production capabilities beyond Earth.
Proposals must be centred on advanced materials or manufacturing research conducted in orbit. Projects focused primarily on servicing, assembly, robotics, autonomous platforms, or generic space systems are out of scope unless these are clearly subordinate to a defined in-orbit materials or manufacturing activity.
Track #3: Space Resources - Construction Applications
How will construction work on other planetary surfaces? To build landing pads, blast berms, and radiation-shielded habitats for future Lunar/ Martian outposts, we must minimize the amount of material launched from Earth by leveraging material found in-situ. In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) enables construction to move away from costly terrestrial imports and toward a sustainable off-world presence.
Over millennia, the Earth brick has been optimized for the human hand. But on the Lunar surface, human-centric construction is obsolete. If an astronaut isn't the primary builder, we open the door to a total reimagining of construction. Will in-situ manufacturing redefine the brick’s structural properties? Will robotic assembly alter how bricks are laid? Will the very concept of a “brick” be rendered meaningless?
Whether through autonomous 3D printing, solar sintering, bioconstruction, self-assembling structures, or beyond, we are looking for the frontier science that replaces terrestrial imports with Lunar autonomy. This track seeks groundbreaking construction-related ideas that align with ESA’s Terra Novae 2030+ strategy and the Moon Village concept. At the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC), we believe that, by solving for zero-water, zero-shipping, or zero-human construction, space technologists can unlock unimagined efficiencies for the trillion-Euro construction industry, today.
Show us how your research will break the state of the art for ISRU construction and capture untapped markets of the future.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible entities:
- Universities, research institutes, and academic laboratories.
- PhD‑level researchers or higher may lead proposals.
- Undergraduate or Master-level projects are not eligible unless led by a PhD‑level researcher.
Geographical eligibility:
- Participation is restricted to organisations located in ESA Member States, Cooperating States, and Associated States.
- Non-European / non‑eligible country entities cannot apply.
Consortia are allowed, provided the lead organisation meets the academic and geographical criteria.
Applicants can apply only to one Track.
Selection Process
- Eligibility screening
- Evaluation against criteria
- Selection of three (3) finalists per Track
- Finalist support phase (pitch preparation)
- Final pitch at Space for Inspiration 2026
- Selection of one winner per Track announced at the conference
An indicative timeline for the process is provided below:
Milestones and Dates
Call opening 13 April 2026
Webinar 12 May 2026 from 4:00pm to 5:30pm CEST
Call closure 5 June 2026
Evaluation period ~2 weeks after closure
Finalist notification July 2026
Pitch-prep sessions July-August 2026
Final pitches at S4I and Winners Announcement 1–2 September 2026, Copenhagen
Support Provided to the Finalists and Winners
Support to Finalists (prior to and for S4I 2026)
Each of the 3 finalists per Track will receive:
- 2 dedicated pitch review & preparation sessions
- ESA Academy will financially support student representative/s of the selected teams to attend S4I Conference and pitch their ideas.
Support to Winners (after S4I 2026)
Each Track winner will receive in-kind support from the BSGN Industry Accelerator, consisting of:
- 3 sessions/workshops of technical support
- 3 sessions/workshops of commercialisation support
- Flexible scheduling (to be defined jointly with ESA and each BSGN Industry Accelerator's Managing Partner)
At the end of the support period, the Managing Partner will deliver a Final Support Report including:
- Summary of the winning solution
- Details of the maturation achieved
- Recommended next steps (e.g. BSGN Industry Accelerator full entry, ESA BIC, other relevant ESA funding tools and programmes)
No funding is provided at the application or support stages.
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