The European Space Agency (ESA) is extending a remarkable invitation to European researchers and companies: the chance to run cutting-edge software directly in the profound vacuum of deep space, aboard ESA’s Hera mission, millions of kilometres from Earth. This unique initiative transforms a groundbreaking asteroid investigation into a pioneering flying laboratory for onboard intelligence and autonomous operations.
A Celestial Sandbox for Next-Generation Space Technologies
Scheduled to conclude its primary planetary defence objectives around the Didymos and Dimorphos asteroids in mid-2027, ESA’s Hera spacecraft will embark on an unprecedented secondary mission. It will become a vital, in-orbit testing ground, positioned an astounding 150 million kilometres away from our home planet. This exceptional vantage point offers European innovators a unparalleled opportunity to test next-generation approaches for onboard intelligence, advanced image processing, and artificial intelligence-driven operations and autonomy. The experiments will be conducted directly on the spacecraft as it navigates the cosmic expanse, providing real-world data under extreme conditions.
This initiative represents a significant stride in ESA’s commitment to fostering technological advancement and solidifying Europe’s leadership in sophisticated space systems. By opening its mission infrastructure to external innovators, ESA aims to accelerate the development cycle for crucial space technologies, reducing reliance on Earth-based control and enhancing the resilience and capabilities of future space exploration endeavours.
Driving Onboard Intelligence and Autonomy
Dietmar Pilz, ESA’s Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality, emphasized the transformative potential of this program. "This is an exceptional opportunity that will help accelerate European innovation, enabling researchers and industry to push the boundaries of onboard intelligence and autonomy," Pilz stated. "We invite Europe’s innovators to shape the next generation of intelligent, robust, and autonomous space missions."
He elaborated on the specific nature of the experiments sought: "We are looking for targeted, innovative experiments that push onboard intelligence beyond today’s procedural boundaries, while running safely alongside Hera’s flight-critical systems in a protected ‘sandbox’ environment. These ideas will help ESA mature technologies that reduce reliance on ground control, increase mission resilience, and enable more capable future exploration missions.”
The core of this program lies in its ambition to move beyond conventional, pre-programmed spacecraft operations. By testing AI-driven decision-making and autonomous functions in a real deep-space environment, ESA seeks to unlock new paradigms in how spacecraft can perceive, interpret, and react to their surroundings, thereby enabling more ambitious and complex missions with reduced human intervention.
The Hera Mission: From Asteroid Defence to Software Innovation
The Hera mission, launched in 2024, has a primary objective rooted in planetary defence. Its target is the binary asteroid system Didymos and Dimorphos. In 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft successfully impacted Dimorphos, altering its orbit around its parent body, Didymos. This historic event marked the first successful kinetic impact test aimed at changing an asteroid’s trajectory, a crucial step in understanding and developing methods for planetary defence against potential asteroid threats.
Hera’s arrival at the Didymos system in autumn 2027 will mark a critical phase of its mission. Upon reaching its destination, Hera will conduct a detailed, close-up investigation of the impact site on Dimorphos. This "crash scene investigation" is designed to gather vital data on the asteroid’s composition, structure, and how it responded to the DART impact. The scientific return from this investigation is expected to resolve key questions at the forefront of planetary defence research, providing invaluable insights into the effectiveness of kinetic impactors and the mechanics of asteroid deflection.
However, once its primary scientific objectives are met, Hera’s journey will continue, offering a unique platform for technological advancement. The spacecraft will then transition into its role as a flying software laboratory, a testament to ESA’s forward-thinking approach to maximizing the value of its space assets.
A Chronology of Innovation
The journey from planetary defence to a deep-space software laboratory for Hera can be broken down into key phases:
- 2024: Hera is launched, beginning its multi-year transit to the Didymos asteroid system.
- 2022: NASA’s DART spacecraft successfully impacts Dimorphos, altering its orbit and setting the stage for Hera’s investigation.
- Autumn 2027: Hera arrives at the Didymos system and commences its primary asteroid impact investigation.
- Mid-2027 (pre-arrival): ESA anticipates the completion of Hera’s primary mission goals.
- Mid-2027 onwards: Hera transitions into its role as a deep-space software laboratory.
- Mid-October 2026: ESA will select the winning ideas for software experiments.
- 31 May 2027: Deadline for submitting full implementation packages and source code for selected experiments.
- August 2027: Planned one-month period for conducting the selected software experiments in deep space.
This carefully orchestrated timeline ensures that the scientific integrity of the planetary defence mission is preserved while maximizing the utility of the spacecraft for future technological development.
Enabling Safe and Robust Software Testing
The operational integrity of Hera is paramount. To ensure that experimental software does not compromise the spacecraft’s critical flight systems, ESA has implemented a sophisticated and secure "sandbox" environment. Jorge Lopez Trescastro, an ESA software engineer for the Hera mission, detailed the meticulous approach to safety.
"Our priority is to perform these experiments in an entirely safe way," Trescastro explained. "So, we are taking advantage of the fact that Hera’s onboard computer runs on a European-developed dual-core LEON3 processor. One core will operate the actual spacecraft, while the other has a safe sandbox environment that has been optimized to host guest software."
This dual-core architecture provides a fundamental layer of isolation. The primary core manages all essential spacecraft functions, navigation, and communication, operating under the strictest validation protocols. The secondary core, however, is dedicated to hosting the experimental software. Access to Hera’s instruments and subsystems will be facilitated for these guest programs, but their operation will be strictly controlled. Each experiment is slated to run for a limited duration, typically two to three hours, and can be instantly shut down if any anomalies or potential issues are detected.
"Access to spacecraft instruments and subsystems will be fully facilitated, while the hosted software will only run for two to three hours at a time, and be shut off immediately if any problems are identified," Trescastro added. "Setting all this up to execute in a safe and reliable way has been really challenging, but now we are ready, and really excited to see what ideas the community brings forward!"
This robust safety framework is crucial for building confidence among innovators and ensuring the continued success of the Hera mission. It reflects a mature understanding of the risks involved in testing novel software in space and a commitment to mitigating those risks through careful engineering and operational protocols.
The Open Space Innovation Platform: A Gateway for Ideas
ESA is leveraging its Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP) as the primary channel for receiving and evaluating proposals for these deep-space software experiments. OSIP is ESA’s dedicated portal for soliciting innovative ideas from a broad range of stakeholders, including academic institutions, research organizations, and commercial companies across Europe.
The call for ideas is structured to facilitate an initial evaluation of promising concepts. Proposers are required to submit an outline form detailing their proposed experiment. Following an initial assessment by ESA, selected teams will be invited to submit their full implementation package, including detailed source code, for rigorous validation.
- Submission Window: Proposals can be submitted via the OSIP portal.
- Initial Evaluation: ESA will conduct an initial review of submitted outlines.
- Selection: Winning ideas are expected to be selected in mid-October 2026.
- Full Implementation: Selected teams must submit their complete implementation packages and source code by 31 May 2027.
- Operational Phase: The experiments are planned to run for one month during August 2027.
This phased approach allows ESA to manage the influx of proposals effectively and ensure that the selected experiments are technically sound, scientifically valuable, and operationally feasible within the constraints of the Hera mission.
Redefining Spacecraft Operations: A Broader Impact
The implications of this initiative extend far beyond the immediate scientific goals of the Hera mission. By fostering the development and testing of advanced onboard intelligence and autonomy, ESA is laying the groundwork for a new era of space exploration and utilization.
Ian Carnelli, Hera Mission Manager, highlighted this vision: "By this time next year, Hera’s asteroid investigation phase should be over, but the spacecraft still holds extraordinary promise. Usually, we operate precious deep-space missions based on carefully validated procedures and frequent ground control oversight. But in this case, we are inviting European innovators to work in a real mission environment to help redefine how spacecraft might think, decide and operate in the future."
The ultimate goal, Carnelli clarified, is not to relinquish control of Hera, but to safely explore concepts that can pave the way for more capable, autonomous, and resilient spacecraft. This could lead to missions that can undertake more complex tasks with less reliance on constant ground communication, crucial for deep-space exploration where communication delays can be significant, or for missions operating in unpredictable environments.
A Legacy of In-Orbit Technology Demonstration
ESA has a strong track record of utilizing its space missions for in-orbit technology demonstration. The Proba family of satellites, including the current formation-flying Proba-3, and the planned Henon CubeSat for deep space exploration, are prime examples of this commitment. These missions provide invaluable opportunities to test new technologies directly in the harsh environment of space, thereby reducing the risk for future, larger-scale programs and accelerating the transition of innovative solutions from laboratory concepts to operational reality.
A notable predecessor to this initiative was ESA’s OPS-SAT CubeSat. This "flying laboratory" invited software developers to run standard software in space, famously including a port of the classic video game Doom. While perhaps a lighter-hearted demonstration, it underscored the potential for testing diverse software applications in an actual space environment.
Hera’s program represents a significant evolution of this spirit. It moves from testing established software to enabling the development and validation of entirely new, intelligent capabilities. The success of this initiative will not only advance Europe’s technological prowess but also inspire a new generation of space engineers and scientists to envision and build the autonomous spacecraft of tomorrow. The call is out: Europe’s innovators are challenged to contribute their visionary ideas and help shape the future of space exploration and operations.
