We are beyond excited to announce that Hydromars secured a payload flight opportunity onboard Nyx, a modular and reusable orbital vehicle provided by The Exploration Company (TEC), for the “Mission Possible” mission.
The opportunity was initiated within the ESA Payalod Masters competition where the European Agency (ESA), in partnership with AZO Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen, was able to secure two places at Nyx and award them to two chosen proposals with particular attention to the commercial use of the submitted applications.
Following a competitive selection process, the top 6 finalists got the possibility to pitch at a dedicated session during the Spring School on Space Commercialisation and Start-ups in Bari, Italy, on 23 – 24 May 2023. As a result, the 2 selected winners were chosen and awarded at the ESA Booth at the International Paris Air Show, on 19 – 25 June 2023.
“Mission Possible” is planned to last about three hours and is to be launched in 2024. It will enable 300kg of payloads to experience a microgravity environment for up to one hour before the capsule performs a controlled re-entry.
With this IOV/IOD opportunity, Hydromars will test the functionality and performance of the thermal pervaporation process using hydrophobic microporous membranes in microgravity for a chosen fluid. Data from this test will be used, among others, to drive design choices for components, process control, sensor and actuator performance, and system mode switching. We will demonstrate process operation and measure permeate and retentate conductivity, flow rates, pressures, recovery rate, and efficiency and hence test concept feasibility. Data from this experiment will lead to updated requirements and further design trade-offs and serve as a basis for Hydromars’ full-scale device.
The opportunity provided by ESA is a huge milestone for Hydromars as IOD/IOV is a key ingredient of Hydromars’ business plan in order to be considered competitive and to scale up the company.
More about ESA Payload Masters: https://spaceimpact.eu/payload-masters/https://lnkd.in/d_-fG73h