The first meeting of the Space Schools Exploration and Research Mission (SPHERE) project took place in Vienna, Austria, 8-9 October 2025, hosted by the lead partner the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) on their premises. Representatives of all the partners in this exciting new collaboration were present and over the two-day meeting each presented their role and responsibilities in SPHERE.
The partners of the SPHERE project in Vienna
This project is a follow-up to EXPLORE and goes one step further by actively integrating the methodologies and workflows of professional analog space missions into student learning experiences.. Students will be prepared to take part and contribute to the real analog missions of AMADEE, planned to take place in Alqueva in 2027, before the SPHERE students’ mission. The SPHERE out-of-classroom activities (SOCs) will be an introduction for the students to conduct a real analog space mission and support the professional event. With this simulation, schools will be transformed into mini space agencies, where every student participating in the project will have a role. The SOC missions are intended to ensure a broader participation of the whole classroom and even other students from the school. In addition, in 2027 and 2028 there will be a mission on an analog site in Portugal and in Poland for selected students and their accompanying teachers.
It’s not just the students who will improve their digital skills and knowledge, the teachers will be fully accompanied by the SPHERE partners throughout the project. A virtual and a physical toolkit will be created, teachers will be supported online to integrate Universal Design Learning and IDEA principles, with students at the heart of their learning experience. An AI-companion will be there to help teachers integrate these activities and cutting edge tools into their curricula and their classrooms. Two summer schools for teachers will also be held, to help create a community of inspired and inspiring educators. SPHERE will be coordinated by the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF), with the active participation of COSPAR, NUCLIO, Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Technische Universität München, Space is More and BIOSKY, LDA.