ESA Hera Mission to Host Deep Space Software Experiments

The European Space Agency (ESA) is inviting researchers and companies to deploy their software on the Hera asteroid mission following its primary planetary defense objectives in mid-2027. The spacecraft will transform into a "flying software laboratory" 150 million kilometers from Earth. This initiative seeks to accelerate European innovation in onboard intelligence, image processing, and AI-based operations by offering a unique deep-space testing environment.