Deadline: October 03, 2025
The European Space Agency (ESA) invites innovative companies to explore the potential of bioengineering in microgravity environments to develop profitable space-enabled services and products.
The primary objective of this Invitation to Tender is to support industry in assessing the potential of bioengineering in microgravity environments, addressing market requirements from various industries, including but not limited to pharmaceuticals, materials science, healthcare, food and nutrients, assessing the customer demand and developing value propositions that resonate with customers and are embedded in profitable business models. Topics of relevance include Tissue Engineering, Biomanufacturing, and Microgravity Bioreactors. ESA seeks promising business ideas addressing attractive market opportunities, identified customer needs and engagement, commercially viable service/product concepts, technically feasible solutions, added value of space microgravity environment, and motivated teams with business, technical, and financial expertise.
The initiative centres on leveraging the unique conditions offered by space, particularly microgravity, to advance bioengineering technologies. Tissue engineering focuses on developing artificial tissues and organs for medical applications, while biomanufacturing enables the production of biological products such as pharmaceuticals and food in space environments. Microgravity bioreactors simulate space conditions, allowing researchers to study biological processes with reduced gravitational influence, thereby enhancing the understanding of cell behavior, gene expression, and nutrient transport.
ESA has partnered with companies such as SpaceApps through the IceCubes service, Kayser Italia’s Bioreactor Express Service, and BioRider for operations and biological sample recovery aboard ESA’s Space Rider vehicle. These collaborations enable companies to use microgravity to create new products and services with improved efficiency and quality, fostering commercial growth and scientific breakthroughs.
The microgravity environment offers unique advantages, such as the elimination of sedimentation and buoyancy-driven forces, altered fluid dynamics, and decreased shear stress, which can significantly impact bioengineering outcomes. Companies that harness these possibilities can deliver innovative products with superior performance and offer specialised services, including in-orbit experimentation for research and development.
ESA provides 200,000 Euros as a firm fixed price covering 100% of the total cost, along with technical and commercial guidance, access to networks and partners, and the use of the ESA brand for proposed services. The opportunity is open for enabling studies to develop early user engagement for space services where market rollout is constrained by regulatory or business model challenges. Eligible teams must be based in ESA member states, and authorisation from the corresponding National Delegation is required for funding.
For more information, visit ESA.
