Small missions
Small missions are ideal tools to promote innovation and foster education and skills, while contributing cost-effectively to the implementation of European or national policy goals. They also facilitate a Member State’s future participation in more complex space programmes.
Through small missions, applications based on national and regional interests can be developed with space or non-space actors. This opens the space domain to new stakeholders, promoting growth and multiplying the benefits of space technologies in cross-sectorial domains. Small missions also offer universities and research centres new opportunities for cooperation.
![Proba-3 formation-flying](/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2011/04/proba-3_formation-flying/9658976-4-eng-GB/Proba-3_formation-flying_article.jpg)
Proposal to the Ministerial Council
ESA intends to promote the launch of small missions with the primary purpose of serving the interests of smaller and/or medium contributors to ESA and to reinforce their motivation to invest in space.
A stepped approach towards the implementation of an independent programme has been envisaged. Notwithstanding already identified small missions, amongst others SAT-AIS and Proba-3 for which dedicated Elements are proposed under ARTES and GSTP respectively, a specific work area will be introduced in Element 1 of GSTP (GSTP 6) to cover the initial preparatory work for a future self-standing programme devoted to the development of small missions.