The European Union has selected 27 space research projects to receive a total of €138.6 million under the Horizon Europe Space Research Call 2025
The call, HORIZON-CL4-2025-02 (SPACE-HADEA), is part of Horizon Europe Cluster 4: Digital, Industry and Space, under Destination 5.
SPACE-HADEA closed on 25 September 2025, and the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) has now completed the evaluation process. Grant agreement preparations have begun with the successful consortia, with all contracts expected to be signed by the end of May 2026.
High-quality evaluation
A total of 93 proposals were submitted; 90 were seen as eligible and admissible. With 27 projects selected for funding, the overall success rate for the call stands at 30.0%.
The evaluation involved 124 external experts who assessed proposals on scientific excellence, impact, and quality of implementation, alongside ethics reviews. An independent observer confirmed that the evaluation complied with all applicable rules and found the overall quality of the process to be excellent.
Small and medium-sized enterprises play a big part in the selected projects, accounting for 23.9% of the total EU funding awarded under this call.
Advancing access to and operations in space
Several funded projects focus on improving Europe’s ability to access and operate in space. In the “Accessing Space” area, projects will coordinate access to European spaceports and develop digital solutions to enhance autonomy in space transportation systems, from early design tools to demonstration activities.
Under the “Acting in Space” theme, six projects will contribute to the detailed design of the In-Space Operations and Services (ISOS) Pilot Mission. These cover servicing, hosting, logistics, and satellite applications components, laying the groundwork for future on-orbit servicing and infrastructure capabilities.
Turning space data into benefits on Earth
A big part of the funding supports the use of space technologies for applications on Earth, particularly in telecommunications and Earth observation. Five projects will develop digital building blocks and prepare demonstration missions that combine Earth observation and satellite communications for space-based solutions.
Seven projects are dedicated to the evolution of Copernicus services. These include climate change reanalyses, atmospheric monitoring, tracking of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, marine environment monitoring, and the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning across Copernicus services. One project also focuses on innovative Earth observation services to support maritime litter detection and ship-source pollution policies.
Reducing dependence on critical space technologies
Boosting Europe’s technological sovereignty is another key part of SPACE-HADEA. Seven projects were selected to strengthen EU non-dependence in critical space technologies, including the development of a RISC-V microprocessor on 7 nm technology, chip-scale atomic clocks, advanced solar cells, connectors, and advanced packaging and memory solutions.
International collaboration is also represented, with one project selected under the EU-Japan cooperation to exploit quantum space-gravimetry data, highlighting Europe’s commitment to strategic global partnerships in cutting-edge space science.
Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond
The European Commission has already adopted the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026–2027. The next EU Space Research call, HORIZON-CL4-2026-SPACE-03, is scheduled to open on 10 March 2026, with a submission deadline of 3 September 2026.
Through these investments, EU Space Research continues to support innovation, competitiveness, and strategic autonomy, while preparing the future evolution of Europe’s space programme.
