Embodied Intelligence for Autonomous Space Systems

A rover exploring a permanently shadowed lunar crater cannot phone home for instructions – there is no signal to phone home on. It has to sense its surroundings, decide what to do, and act, all without a human in the loop. Today's space robots are not built for that level of independence, and ESA's new Embodied Intelligence for Autonomous Space Systems campaign is calling for ideas to change that.

Launched on 30 June 2026 through the Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP), the campaign invites researchers and industry to submit early-stage concepts, feasibility studies, enabling technologies and mission concepts that bring embodied intelligence to autonomous space robotics.