How to apply

Consult with ESA Academy 

Students are invited to call upon ESA Academy for advice, guidance and for answers to any questions which they may have regarding their application. This consultation does not influence the selection process further down the line, all questions are welcome, and teams are encouraged to get in touch regardless of the query. Please contact us at: rexus-bexus@esa.int.  

Submit your Experiment Proposal

Step by step 

The following steps describe what is needed to apply for the REXUS/BEXUS programme: 

• Form a team fulfilling the conditions for participation outlined below. Include people from different disciplines and ensure that the team has a good range of skills addressing the many different tasks involved. For example:
  • A project manager to oversee the project time, technical and financial management.
  • A scientist to define the parameters of the experiment and interpret the measurements.
  • A mechanical engineer to design and build the structure.
  • An electronics engineer to design and manufacture the circuit boards.
  • A software engineer to program the commands and data storage.
  • Someone with good communication skills to develop and execute a successful outreach programme.
• Download the REXUS and/or BEXUS user manual from the List of documents page and read it to understand what is possible within the constraints of the launch vehicle.
• Define your project, discuss it with the rest of the team and try to find references in the scientific literature to similar or related research projects.
• Identify an endorsing professor or academic supervisor whose role will be to supervise the work of your team.
• As stated above, consult the ESA Academy programme coordination per email via rexus-bexus@esa.int if you have any questions about the team eligibility or to check your project feasibility. All questions are welcome, and teams are recommended to get in touch regardless of the query.  
• Find additional support like institutes, senior scientists and sponsors. You will probably need to use laboratories and specialised tools during the development and testing phases and you will almost certainly need advice when unforeseen problems arise.
• Consider how much the project will cost and how you will raise the funds for materials, testing facilities and travel of any unsponsored team members.
• Download the Word format of the Experiment Proposal Form and fill it in.
• Ask your endorsing professor or academic supervisor for a formal letter of endorsement.
• Download the ESA Academy Privacy Notice and Consent Form and prepare a signed version of each team member.
• Upload the completed Experiment Proposal Form, the Letter of Endorsement, and signed ESA Academy Privacy Notices here.

SNSA/ESA proposals will be assessed by a panel of experts. Short-listed experiments will be invited to participate in a selection workshop at ESTEC where a final selection will be made.

Please note that you are responsible for all aspects of your experiment (science, mechanical & electrical engineering, software, manufacturing, testing, etc.). The scientific scope and technical complexity of your proposed experiment shall match your team’s skills and available resources (time, workforce, access to facilities, finances, support by professors and/or senior scientists, etc.).

I am studying in Germany – How should I apply? 

As the programme is partly funded by DLR (the German Aerospace Centre), there is a different application process for students studying in Germany. Full details can be found on the REXUS/BEXUS webpage. 

Conditions for participation

Team composition 

The REXUS/BEXUS programme is open to teams from universities of an eligible state. 

The core team shall be composed of at least four students who are all eligible for sponsorship. There is no limit to the maximum number of student team members. 

Student teams may include a limited number of students who are not eligible for sponsorship. Those students may be able to attend programme events under their own funding, as long as the minimum team requirements are also met. 

Endorsing professor(s) and letter(s) of endorsement 

Student teams must show that the project has the support of their universities through a letter of endorsement from a professor or academic supervisor in which they pledge their support to all the team members and the proposed project. More specifically, the endorsing professor(s) should clearly state that they support the students’ application and that they accept responsibility for their REXUS/BEXUS experiment.  

The endorsing professor(s) must belong to the same educational institution as the core team members. The endorsing professor’s roles and responsibilities include but are not limited to: 

• Provide student teams with assistance in accessing and navigating university policies, and processes; 
• Assist student teams with accessing resources such as laboratory space, and equipment; 
• Endorse the entire application, and development process of the team; 
• Bear responsibility for the experiment. 

If a student team is selected to participate in the REXUS/BEXUS programme, the endorsing professor or academic supervisor will have to complete and sign an acceptance letter. 

Please note that the information detailed above may be subject to change without prior notice.