INTRODUCTION
ESA's Exploration Science Programme: Advancing Knowledge, Inspiring Innovation
The European Space Agency's Exploration Science element, a cornerstone of its Explore2040 strategy, invites scientists, researchers, and innovators to join us in pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and technological capabilities. Our programme uniquely balances exploration-focused science, essential for enabling future human missions beyond Earth, with exploration-enabled science that leverages our capabilities for groundbreaking research across disciplines.
From the microgravity environment of low Earth orbit to the dusty plains of Mars, we offer unparalleled opportunities to conduct cutting-edge research. Our comprehensive approach spans multiple destinations - including the International Space Station, future commercial LEO platforms, the cis-Lunar orbit, the Moon's surface, and Mars - providing a diverse array of research environments and challenges.
Guided by core European values of collaboration, scientific excellence, and responsible exploration, we seek proposals that not only advance our understanding of the universe but also contribute to solving global challenges here on Earth. Our programme emphasises open science, international cooperation, and the inspiration of future generations.
Developing countermeasures for long-duration spaceflight, investigating fundamental physics in microgravity, prospecting for lunar resources, or searching for signs of past life on Mars, the ESA Exploration Science Programme offers a platform to turn your scientific vision into reality.
Through this Continuously Open Research Announcement, we invite you to become part of Europe's journey into space, contributing your expertise to a programme that balances scientific rigour with exploration's grand challenges. Together, we will forge new paths in space exploration, expanding human knowledge and capabilities for the benefit of all.
EVALUATION PLANNING
Evaluation sessions are organised twice a year. Authors will get the feedback from the idea evaluation sessions typically 4 weeks after evaluation closure:
(Please note that by default all ideas saved will enter the respective next evaluation round. Authors can edit their ideas until the evaluation round starts, but not once it has already started.)
Ideas that do not pass peer review can be revised and submitted once more; further guidance is given in the resubmission section below.
Through this Continuously Open Research Announcement Opportunity for GBF (ESA-CORA-GBF), ESA provides scientists with an opportunity to conduct research necessary to advance knowledge relevant to the effects of space, as well as Moon and Mars environments, on humans and/or biological life in general, as well as on physical or material science and systems, aiming to enable space exploration. Proposals shall address these research questions through ground-based experimental studies making use of the facilities, located in one of the European Exploration Envelope Programme (E3P) participating Member States, relevant for answering the specific research question. Research priorities as part of the Explore2040 objectives are highlighted in Annex 1. Examples of previously used facilities are listed in Annex 2. Facilities included in new proposals may fall into a different category. Previously utilised facilities fall into the below categories:
The data obtained shall improve the current knowledge in the areas of interest, e.g. to develop diagnosis tools and countermeasure protocols for humans in space, to gain insights on the effect of space conditions on microbes or to develop new shielding techniques to protect equipment from space radiation. In addition to supporting the needs of human space exploration missions, the information obtained is relevant to improve Earth-based technologies and/or medical protocols.
(Please note that the previous CORA-IBPER (Investigating the Biological and Physical Effects of Radiation) opportunity has merged with CORA-GBF, and as such, accelerator facility requests can be made through the CORA-GBF opportunity.)
APPLICATION PROCESS
Please submit your proposal by clicking "Submit Your Idea" and by filling in all sections of the submission form. It is highly recommended to coordinate beforehand with the facility to be used for the proposed project for suitability, feasibility, and availability of the facility. Please review and sign the privacy notice template (ESA Privacy Notice for HRE-S Activities) in the attachments below upon your submission. You can use this platform to ask questions if needed.
FACILITY INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR ALL PROPOSED FACILITIES
To support the peer‑review process, a Facility Application Form is required for every facility included in your proposal, whether it is already part of the GBF catalogue or newly proposed. These forms enable reviewers to evaluate each facility’s capabilities, availability, and alignment with the planned research. Please ensure that the relevant forms are uploaded with your submission.
Facilities that are utilised by selected activities will be added to the Ground-Based facilities catalogue on a rolling basis.
Facilities proposed in the application must not be affiliated with the same institution as the applicants.
IMPLEMENTATION OF SELECTED EXPERIMENTS
After positive selection of the peer-reviewed proposal, the scientific coordinator of the experiment will be notified and they will be required to confirm the availability of resources and of the selected facility. ESA will support selected proposals with a maximum of €75k to cover the access costs to the facility. Please be aware that ESA will not pay for consumables, travel/accommodation costs and for subsistence for the experimenter(s).
Experiments costs exceeding the above-mentioned threshold shall be the responsibility of the coordinator and their partners. Personnel costs will not be covered through this programme. ESA will place a contract with the proposed facility (i.e. not with individual science teams) to cover the costs of experiment implementation.
Please take note that the acceptance of a proposal is not a guarantee for implementation. Implementation will be subject to a technical feasibility review carried out by the selected facility after selection. Note, it is not possible to submit a proposal for using the science teams' own facilities.
Science teams whose experiment is selected through this AO will need to sign a letter agreeing to ESA conditions related to date rights, IP, liability, etc. The science team will also be expected to provide a summarising report of their experiment and outcomes one year after the closure of the project with the facility. The details will be discussed with the science teams after selection.
ETHICAL AND MEDICAL BOARD APPROVAL
Where human subjects are involved in the experiment and/or downstream samples are targeted for biobanking purposes, it is necessary to demonstrate that local IRB approval has been granted. In some instances, ESA Medical Board (MB) approval will also be required, in which case ESA requires submission of the approved ethical package (institutional ethics approval and consent form) for internal review and approval.
CONTRIBUTION TO ESA'S HRE EXPLORATION BIOBANK
ESA has established an HRE Exploration Biobank to enable future research opportunities by preserving biological samples collected during exploration-related studies. As part of the CORA-GBF setup, science teams submitting proposals will be asked to formally acknowledge their awareness of the biobank initiative where participation involves making residual sample fractions from their approved investigations available for long-term storage in the ESA HRE Exploration Biobank. The detailed process, including documentation requirements, ethical considerations, and applicable standards, will be communicated at a later stage during the study preparation phase. Formal agreements, where applicable, will also be addressed at that time. Please note that any contribution of residual samples will require participant consent and inclusion in the relevant ethical approvals prior to implementation. The cost of shipment of the residual samples to the HRE Exploration Biobank will be covered and does not entail financial contribution by the science team.
CONTRIBUTION TO ESA'S HRE Archiving
Raw and calibrated data shall be provided by the Science Team to ESA. P The aim is to allow for the archival of a complete and meaningful investigation dataset at ESA. The data deliverables from the Science Team to ESA shall be provided in open and readable formats (not requiring special or proprietary tools to read them), unless otherwise is agreed with the HRE Science Data Centre. HRE Data Archive
For archiving purposes, the science team will need to create a Data Blank Book (template can be found in attachment [AD07].
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Eligibility
In order to be eligible for the scientific review process, applicants must be affiliated with recognised research institutions (such as universities, colleges, hospitals, institutes) located in one of the Member States participating in ESA’s European Exploration Envelope Programme (E3P) — namely Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom. Scientists from other ESA Member States may join proposals as team members.
Scientists from other ESA Member States that do not contribute to the E3P Programme and scientists from other European countries having a cooperation agreement with ESA are encouraged to enquire with their national space organisation about the conditions for their participation in proposals to ESA.
Applicants will need to confirm that they have informed their national agency/delegation before submitting their proposal. The Points of Contacts can be found in the Attachments section below.
Data Rights
Please see the Attachment titled "DataRights_GBF_final"
Acknowledgement
Any publication of the results generated in the context of this research announcement of opportunity must acknowledge the sponsorship of the study by the European Space Agency.
Support of Education and Outreach
The activities covered in this research announcement provide an opportunity for the European Space Agency to engage the public and offer opportunities for education and outreach. Science Teams are encouraged to promote and communicate their investigations to a wide audience (general public, colleagues, involvement of students, social media) and to support the European Space Agency in the event of organised press conferences, social media events, educational activities, publications, etc.
ESA will make use of independent experts for the relevance and scientific merit evaluation of proposals. The proposal coordinator will receive information on the outcome of the review, typically within 2 months after the campaign closes. The evaluation criteria that will be applied for evaluation of the proposals are:
Each proposal will receive an overall scientific merit score between 0 and 100 points, corresponding to the weighted average of the above-mentioned criteria. The proposals will receive one of the following marks:
Only proposals receiving a scientific merit score of Excellent, or higher (score of 81 or higher) will be selected for implementation. Furthermore, a minimum score of Very Good or higher (score of 71 or higher) and a pass for pass/fail criteria is needed for each individual criterion. This is to ensure the selection of balanced proposals across the scientific merit criteria.
Following approval of the proposed selection, the proposers will be individually informed of the outcome of the review in a confidential letter. This will include the report of the scientific peer review with overall scoring and programmatic assessment. The results of the selection will be final and not open to appeal.
Proposals that are not selected may be revised and resubmitted once in a future evaluation round. Resubmissions must include:
