ESA Launches New Platform to Submit ‘High Risk-High Reward” Space Tech Ideas

Insider Brief

• The European Space Agency has launched the Open Discovery Ideas Channel to fund and support early-stage, high-risk concepts that could shape future missions and technologies.
• The platform welcomes submissions from individuals and institutions, offering access to ESA experts, facilities, and up to two years of funding through Cooperative Agreements.
• Aimed at ideas that go beyond incremental improvements, ESA’s revamped initiative seeks bold, transformative proposals aligned with its long-term space strategy.

The European Space Agency is looking for ideas that reach for the stars – and beyond.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a new platform to receive early-stage ideas that could become the foundation for future missions, offering funding and expert support to selected proposals. The Open Discovery Ideas Channel, part of ESA’s Discovery program, is now open to researchers, entrepreneurs, and even curious individuals with a disruptive concept for space science, engineering, or technology.

The ESA stressed the program is looking for high risk-high reward concepts “with the potential to change dramatically” the European space landscape, and not incremental developments. The initiative is part of ESA’s Basic Activities and serves as a gateway for “high-risk and blue-sky R&D that might lead to potentially game-changing concepts.”

The Open Discovery Ideas Channel is the latest update to ESA’s Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP), launched in 2019 to solicit novel concepts from a broader audience. The redesigned channel integrates lessons from its earlier version, including user feedback gathered in early 2025 from academia and industry partners. The revamped platform simplifies the submission process and introduces features like an updated idea form and clearer paths to connect with ESA experts.

Selected proposals receive financial support and access to ESA’s network of specialists and facilities. Each project is executed under a Cooperative Agreement and can run for up to two years, helping the idea mature from a concept into a viable technology. ESA noted that the program particularly encourages “high risk–high reward” submissions, which may not align with conventional development timelines or priorities but offer transformative potential.

“The topics selected can be related to any of ESA’s domains,” according to the ESA. “For example, at the moment two teams are researching how to build AI-based autonomous navigation for close proximity operations in orbit and how to 3D print radiation shields from local materials on Mars.” The only requirement is that the idea be new, bold, and aligned with ESA’s strategic goals.

The application process has also been designed to be as inclusive as possible. Applicants do not need a full technical proposal at the outset. Instead, they are asked to describe the concept and its potential impact. If the idea is accepted, ESA assigns an “idea coach” and facilitates contact with relevant experts to help refine it.

Each proposal goes through a structured review process, with selected activities potentially forming the foundation for future ESA programs. The insights gleaned also inform broader policy and planning decisions by ESA and its Member States.

“Authors of the most novel ideas are invited to submit full proposals for funding,” the ESA noted. “Each activity lasts up to two years and the results serve as baseline designs for future ESA missions across all ESA directorates.”

The call is open now. ESA indicated it hopes that among the submissions will be technologies and breakthroughs that shape the next generation of European spaceflight.