Tenders Are Invited For Aurion Advancing Understanding Through Research And Industry-Oriented Co-Design Of New Missions

Tenders are invited for Aurion Advancing Understanding through Research and Industry-Oriented Co-Design of New Missions - Expro plus AURION aims to establish a structured pre-Phase-0 co-design environment in which scientific ambition and industrial feasibility are developed concurrently to define credible, innovative Earth Observation mission concepts. The activity targets mission concepts at SRL =3 that have not previously been assessed within ESA, and enables their maturation through joint science-industry system-level design, including early assessment of technical feasibility, cost drivers, and programmatic viability. AURION studies are characterised by: Joint science-industry leadership (mandatory co-design) Concurrent SRL and TRL maturation Focus on novel mission concepts, not incremental extensions Early integration of industrial feasibility Explicit treatment of technical, cost, and programmatic risk Selected consortia shall perform integrated science-engineering co-design studies covering: Definition of measurement concept and observing principle Exploration of mission architectures (orbit, geometry, constellation vs monolithic)Elaboration of preliminary Level-1 and Level-2 mission requirements Identification and maturation pathway of critical enabling technologies (TRL13+) Development of end-to-end data chain, including calibration and processing Preliminary cost and risk assessment Activities shall remain strictly within pre-Phase-0, shall not converge prematurely to a single industrial solution, and shall maintain architectural optionality through structured trade-space exploration. Open Date: 02/07/2026 16:54 CET Closing Date: 01/09/2026 13:00 CET Tender Link : https://esastar-publication-ext.sso.esa.int/ESATenderActions/filter/open