ESA, IPEV and PNRA are soliciting for biomedical and psychological experiments to be implemented at the Concordia station in Antarctica (AO-2026-Concordia).
Note: Science teams interested in applying are invited to a Q&A virtual meeting that will be held during the Announcement of Opportunity phase to support prospective applicants in preparing their proposals and to address any questions they may have. Details of the meeting can be found below under [Section 4].
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1. INTRODUCTION
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Exploration Science element is a key component of the Explore2040 strategy, supporting scientific research that advances both space exploration and fundamental scientific knowledge. The programme combines exploration-focused science, which addresses the knowledge and capabilities required for future human exploration missions, with exploration-enabled science, which leverages exploration platforms and infrastructure to enable research across a broad range of disciplines.
Exploration Science encompasses activities across multiple destinations and environments, ranging from the microgravity conditions of low Earth orbit to the lunar surface and, ultimately, Mars. The programme supports scientific investigations conducted aboard the International Space Station, future commercial low Earth orbit platforms, lunar orbital and surface infrastructures, and other exploration missions, providing access to unique research environments that cannot be replicated on Earth.
Exploration Science is guided by European principles of scientific excellence, international collaboration, responsible exploration, and open science. It aims to generate knowledge that enhances our understanding of the universe, supports the development of future exploration capabilities, and contributes to addressing challenges that benefit society on Earth. In parallel, Exploration Science seeks to inspire future generations and strengthen Europe's role in the global exploration endeavour.
Through its portfolio of missions, facilities, and research opportunities, ESA’s Exploration Science element enables the scientific community to address fundamental questions in the physical, life, and planetary sciences while supporting the long-term goals of human and robotic exploration beyond Earth.
Crewed missions to the Moon and Mars will add an entirely new dimension to human spaceflight. Psychological and physiological challenges will surpass anything humans have undertaken before. In this context, extreme terrestrial environments play a key role in enabling the study of human adaptation to extreme and remote conditions. A winterover in an Antarctic research stations has several aspects in common with future spaceflight missions. The high level of isolation, confinement, limited medical support, and the extreme environment create a unique opportunity for the study of human adaptation.
2. DETAILS OF THE PLATFORM
Figure 1. Concordia Station, Antarctica
Concordia Station is a French-Italian research facility jointly operated and funded by the French Polar Institute (IPEV) and the Italian Antarctic Programme (PNRA). It is one of the most isolated Antarctic research bases, situated 1000 kilometres from the Antarctic coast on the East Antarctic High Plateau. Concordia can only be accessed during the summer season. Summer personnel leave in late January, and from then on, a crew of 12-16 scientists and technicians spends 10 months living and working in the station in complete isolation.
Location: Dome C, 3233 meters above sea level (with air pressure equivalent to almost 4000
meters at the equator)
Summer season: November – late January
Station reachable by plane and traverse
~80 people on site
Mean temperature -35°C
Winterover: February – end of October
No evacuation possible during winter
Polar night from May – August (~100 days)
Mean temperature -60°C (down to -80°C)
Winterover crew: predominantly French and Italian
aged between ~20-60 yrs old
technicians and scientists
Since 2005, IPEV, PNRA and ESA have worked together to implement biomedical and psychological research experiments, and test innovative technologies relevant to space exploration in Concordia Station. Each year, a Research Medical Doctor is selected to be part of the crew and to conduct ESA experiments on site. While conducting research in Antarctica is fundamental to improving the well-being and health of astronauts, it can also deliver tangible benefits on Earth by enhancing the living and working conditions of people in remote, isolated, or otherwise extreme environments.
Please note that Concordia does not provide a controlled analogue space mission setting. It is an operational station and the crewmembers, each of which has their dedicated role, are volunteers for the ESA experiments. Nevertheless, these real-world operational conditions make Concordia a unique and highly relevant platform for space exploration research.
The crew consists of about 50% technical support (mechanic, plumber, electrotechnician, IT, etc.), and 50% scientists from various fields (glaciology, astronomy, atmospheric physics, computer science, etc.), one of which is a Research MD dedicated to the ESA experiments. A surgeon and a cook are also part of the crew. A station leader from within the crew is appointed by IPEV and PNRA before departure for Antarctica. This person then functions as the mission commander. Food and supplies are delivered during the summer season and meals (lunch and dinner) are prepared by the station’s cook. There is no strict diet. During the winterover, each crewmember has their private bedroom, all other facilities are shared. The station is equipped with a gym (various devices such as a treadmill, ergometer, climbing wall, weights), however exercise is voluntary and done in the crewmember’s free time. The station has only very limited access to the internet.
Investigators will not be in direct contact with the participants, but represented by the Research MD. Should a higher number of participants be required, experiments can run over several winterover seasons.
It is important to design experiments with this setup in mind to ensure participant compliance. Please also keep in mind that while the winterover starts in February, the crew may arrive as early as November at the station. Summer is a very busy time and scheduling experiments right after arrival is not impossible, but may be challenging. Furthermore, the summer season does not provide the same level of isolation and confinement as the winterover period, and data collected during this phase may therefore be less representative of an extreme environment.
For specific questions, please use the Q&A form as well as the virtual Q&A session (see Section 4).
More information on Concordia station can be found at http://www.esa.int/concordia, as well as on the French and Italian Antarctic national programmes' websites ( https://institut-polaire.fr/en/ and https://www.pnra.aq/). See Annex 1 for additional details.
Figure 2. Antarctica and the location of Concordia Station
3. DESCRIPTION OF THE OPPORTUNITY
The Steering Committee of Concordia (representing the Italian and French National Antarctic programmes) and ESA release this joint AO for biomedical and psychological experiments to be implemented in Concordia Station, to address human research questions that are relevant to ESA’s Exploration Science, enabling human missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
The research questions listed below are intended as examples and are not exhaustive. Investigators are encouraged to propose innovative approaches and additional research questions that align with the overall objectives of this AO. For more detailed examples of relevant research questions, please see Annex 8.
a. Behavioural Health, Mental Well-Being and Cognitive Performance
Long-duration exploration missions will expose crews to prolonged isolation, confinement, operational demands, and restricted social interactions. Understanding the factors that influence psychological well-being, resilience, and performance is a key research priority.
b. Team Functioning and Social Dynamics
Future exploration missions will depend on small autonomous teams operating in isolated and resource-constrained environments. Understanding the factors that promote effective teamwork and crew cohesion is, therefore, essential.
c. Human Physiology, Sleep and Circadian Adaptation
The unique environmental conditions at Concordia provide opportunities to investigate physiological adaptation during prolonged residence in extreme environments.
d. Physical Activity, Nutrition and Metabolic Health
Maintaining physical capacity, metabolic health, and adequate nutrition will be critical for future exploration missions.
e. Integrated Health Monitoring and Predictive Health
Future exploration missions will require reliable and resource-efficient approaches for monitoring health and performance.
f. Immunology, Microbiome and Host–Environment Interactions
Long-duration residence in isolated environments may affect immune function, microbial ecosystems, and host–environment interactions. Understanding these processes is important for maintaining health and operational readiness during future exploration missions.
g. Medical Autonomy and Healthcare in Remote Environments
Future exploration missions will require increasing levels of medical autonomy due to communication delays, limited resources, and the absence of rapid evacuation options.
h. Cross-Cutting Topic: Countermeasure Development and Validation
Identification, development, validation, and operational assessment of countermeasures aimed at maintaining or improving health, well-being, performance, and operational capability. Countermeasures may address one or multiple domains.
Isolation Standard Measures
During the winterover seasons, Isolation Standard Measures (ISM, Annex 7) will be collected. Applying science teams can request access to these data to supplement their own research.
The use of ISM data is encouraged where these measurements complement or can substitute for elements of your experimental protocol. However, please note that the full implementation of the ISM package is subject to feasibility and resource constraints, and not all measures can be guaranteed for every season. Therefore, if you intend to rely on specific ISM measures, please clearly indicate whether they are to be used as primary measures or secondary measures (e.g., as covariates), so that appropriate workarounds can be explored should these measures become unavailable.
Baseline data collection
An opportunity to collect baseline data collection is organised by ESA once before departure to Concordia (roughly 6 weeks in advance) and once after return from Concordia (roughly 6 months after returning). This is done at :envihab, Cologne (DE). Specifics might differ for each winterover season and will be discussed in advance of the season with the selected science teams. Collecting data outside these opportunities will not be organised by ESA.
4. SCHEDULE OF THE AO
The schedule for this Announcement of Opportunity is as follows:
- Launch of Announcement of Opportunity: 10 July 2026
- Q&A virtual session: 14 September 2026 at 15:00 - 16:30 CEST (meeting will end earlier if all questions are answered)
- Link to Q&A Submission Form: Ask your question here
- Submission deadline for full proposals: 2 November 2026 at 23:59 CET
- Implementation: Not earlier than Winterover 2029
- Please note that preparations (science and operational requirements definition, crew training, hardware shipment, etc.) for winterover 2029 will start in early 2028.
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact the Campaign Manager using the following channels:
- Please post questions that require a timely response in OSIP
- In preparation for the virtual Q&A session, you may submit questions in advance through the form linked in Section 4
- Detailed discussions and questions will be handled in the meeting
- Please refrain from sending emails
5. APPLICATION PROCESS
All components of the proposal submission must be provided in English, including the content of the online submission form and any uploaded attachments or supporting documents.
Kindly submit your completed proposal and Experimental Data Sheet (see templates in Annex 2 and 3) by clicking on the “Submit Your Idea” button below. Complete all sections of the submission form as per guidelines outlined in the call, upload all required attachments, and complete any additional information as required.
Full project proposals must be accompanied by a completed Experimental Data Sheet (Annex 3). This document is essential for evaluating the scientific and technical feasibility of the proposed experiment and to ensure alignment with mission constraints.
ESA will organise a Q&A virtual meeting to present the details of the call and the associated facility, and to address any questions from prospective proposers. This session is intended to support interested teams in preparing strong and well-informed proposals. Please see Section 4. Schedule of the AO for details on this session.
If you have any further technical questions during submission, feel free to contact the Campaign Manager using the channels mentioned in Section 4.
Please ensure that all team members complete and sign the Privacy Consent Form (Annex 4) and include them as part of the proposal submission.
6. DATA RIGHTS AND MANAGEMENT
Please ensure you are familiar with the data rights, data ownership, and the data management responsibilities applicable to the datasets a selected science team will acquire as part of the campaign as described in the ESA HRE Data Policy (see Annex 5).
Publications and Acknowledgement
Any publication of the results generated in the context of this announcement of opportunity shall acknowledge the sponsorship of the study by the European Space Agency, IPEV, and PNRA. ESA’s Scientists are encouraged to publish their results in open‑access journals. Scientists are also encouraged to notify ESA about their publication at explorationscience@esa.int
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 organized press conferences, social media events, educational activities, publications, etc.
