HEMPT-NG addresses the topic COMPET-3-2016-a on Incremental Technologies part of the SRC electrical propulsion in line with the EPIC roadmap “to increase the competitiveness of EP systems developed in Europe” by developing an integrated solution based on HEMPT (Highly Efficient Multistage Plasma Thruster) , the fluidic management system, and the power processing unit. The proposed development will raise the performance of all components beyond current state-of-the-art. The results will offer an ideal EPS system for LEO application up to 700 W and for Telecom/Navigation application up 5 kW. The HEMPT technology offers unique innovative features compared to other EP technologies and makes HEMP a key candidate to overcome all the currently identified deficiencies: 1. No discharge channel erosion leading to higher lifetimes of the thruster, 2. Acceleration voltages enabling a high specific Impulse (ISP) leading to a drastic reduction of propellant consumption, 3. Unique large range of thrust offer enormous flexibility, 4. Minimal complexity of concept providing an excellent basis for economic competitiveness. The HEMPT-NG consortium is led by TES (Thales Electronic System GmbH), subsidiary of the Thales Group, worldwide leader in the development and production of space products, responsible for thruster equipment and integrated EPS. European industrial partners are: Thales, OHB, Airbus and Aerospazio, who bring their expertise in spacecraft mission studies, equipment development and testing capacities. The University of Greifswald will provide plasma simulation to support the thrusters developed. These eight partners in five European member-states (Germany, France, UK, Belgium, Italy) will develop an economical and well-performing HEMPT LEO and GEO EPS to guarantee European leadership and competitiveness, as well as the non-dependence of European capabilities in electric propulsion. This proposal falls under the CONFIDENTIALITY rules described in Section 5.

EROSS (European Robotic Orbital Support Services) objective is to demonstrate the European solutions for the Servicers and the Serviced LEO/GEO satellites, enabling a large range of efficient and safe orbital support services. The project will assess and demonstrate the capability of the on-orbit servicing spacecraft (chaser) to perform rendezvous, capturing, grasping, berthing and manipulating of a collaborative client satellite (target) provisioned for servicing operations including refuelling and payload transfer/replacement. EROSS embeds key European Technologies by leveraging on actuators, sensors, software frameworks and algorithms developed in previous European Projects. EROSS boosts the maturity of these key building blocks and increases their functionalities and performance in a coherent work programme targeting fast and practical deployment of the developed solutions in space. The consortium went into great details in the EROSS concept and the technical operational plan to manage perfectly the risks and complexity of development of such a large system. Following EROSS, TAS plans to commercialize its Multi-Purpose Servicing Chaser in 2021 for the LEO&GEO servicing business, pulling with him the project’s technology providers. Besides, most partners will address other short-term space/non-space markets, such as Space Exploration & Science and factory automation (sensors, robots). The project success relies on a highly skilled and experienced consortium involving all the leaders of previous SRC Operational Grants. EROSS involves 11 partners from 8 countries over 24 months and a budget of 3,9M€. As Operational Grant n°7, EROSS will be part of the Strategic Research Cluster (SRC) on Space Robotics.

Sample return missions (SRMs) are a critical next step in our exploration of the Solar System and are identified as strategic missions by international space agencies. Europe has a very strong legacy in the curation and research of precious extraterrestrial materials. To maintain European leadership and ensure high-level involvement in future SRMs, a dedicated European Sample Curation Facility (ESCF) to receive and curate returned samples from the Moon, asteroids and Mars, is of critical importance. Euro-CARES will focus on 5 key themes for developing a ESCF: o Planetary Protection- protocols and methods for future SRMs o Instrumentation and Analytical Methods- in the fields of cosmo/geochemistry and biosciences o Facilities and Infrastructures- to curate sensitive extraterrestrial or biological materials o Analogue Materials- that are most appropriate and can be used in ‘end to end’ SRM planning o Portable Receiving Technologies- used to move samples whilst retaining scientific integrity and bio-containment (for Mars samples) Using the 5 key themes Euro-CARES will: 1) Evaluate and critically assess the state of the art within Europe and internationally to identify critical requirements for the ESCF 2) Determine and verify European readiness levels to identify where investment is required and opportunities for European leadership in scientific and engineering fields related to curating extraterrestrial samples 3) Engage with scientific, industrial, governmental and public stakeholders through community workshops, conferences, publications and educational opportunities 4) Deliver recommendations and roadmaps defining the steps necessary to deliver a ESCF to ensure high-level involvement in future ESA and international SRMs Euro-CARES comprises a team of scientists and engineers from across Europe with internationally recognised expertise in astrobiology, biosciences, cosmo/geochemistry, extraterrestrial sample curation, planetary protection and space exploration.

The proposal addresses the establishment, with the support of mobile robotic platforms, of a precursor lunar base with essential capabilities in preparation to commercial exploitation of in-situ resources by assembling an ISRU resource extraction and utilization system will be essential for the establishment of future human settlement. It will in particular include the extraction of oxygen from regolith to serve as oxidizer for fuel and for artificial atmosphere generation within habitats, and 3D printing of relevant structures using regolith (with or without adjuvant, depending on printing strategy) for construction purpose – e.g. tiles for landing pad and roads, panels for berms, elements for shelters. The primary objective of PRO-ACT is to implement and demonstrate multi-robot cooperation capabilities in a moon construction context, relying on, extending and integrating the outcomes of OG1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Accordingly PRO-ACT will: - Review, extend and integrate ESROCOS, ERGO, InFuse, I3DS and SIROM outcomes as part of a comprehensive multi-robot system, in a meaningful moon construction scenario. - Develop robust multi-robot cooperation capabilities allowing joint interventions (including navigation in close vicinity and joint manipulation actions) in mixed structured / unstructured environment. Make the capabilities available within a CREW module, integrated along with ERGO, InFuse and ESROCOS. - Perform the customization of existing mobile robotic platforms and prepare facilities (moon analogue) for performing tests and demonstrations in a selection of relevant, partially representative scenarios of moon construction activities in relation to (1) ISRU capabilities establishment and (2) preparing dust mitigation surfaces (3) assembling and deploying a gantry/3D printer. As a baseline, TRL 4 to 5 is aimed at (depending on scenarios subparts). - Perform needed tests and demonstrations in Lunar analogues to validate the newly developed capabilities.