The Discovery and Preparation programme works with external partners on a variety of activities which investigate the feasibility of new mission concepts. The results of each activity are presented at ESA and can later be viewed online.
MOONDIVE
Looking into how the European Astronaut Centre's Neutral Buoyancy Facility could be used to practise for lunar and asteroid missions. This would involve mimicking the local gravity, simulating the terrain and introducing robotic assistance.
Led by COMEX:
Feasibility of Ultra-low Thrust Transfers in the Sun-Earth-Moon System
Investigating whether saddle points in the Earth-Sun system can be used to perform ultra-low thrust transfers and as such achieve unique orbits in a propellant-saving way. This would result in lower fuel needs and the possibility to extend launch windows for several deep-space missions, for instance L1 missions or asteroid capture/orbit missions.
By Airbus:
By Politechnico Milano:
Optical Compressive Sensing Technologies for Space Applications
Studying whether compressive sensing technology is a feasible solution for a range of space applications, such as hyperspectral imagers on board spacecraft or optical cameras on rovers.
By CNR-IFAC:
By CSEM (Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology):
Reliable TT&C During Superior Solar Conjunctions
Proposing and investigating the technical solutions needed to mitigate the effects of plasma scintillation on radio links during superior solar conjunctions.
By Arpsoft s.r.l.:
RAILSAFE
Coming up with a high-level roadmap for the implementation of GNSS technologies in the rail sector. The study investigated required driving conditions, assessed safety issues and performance and looked into several GNSS technologies.
By GMV Innovating Solutions:
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