With the International Space Station (ISS) currently planned for decommissioning in 2031, the future of European human spaceflight in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is increasingly uncertain. This uncertainty has been further reinforced by recent shifts in NASA's Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program, originally intended to support the commercial ISS successors.

In this context, Europe's ambitions in microgravity research and human spaceflight lack a clearly defined path forward. ESA responded to the situation by encouraging Europe to “steer its own post-ISS programme”, advocating for the potential development of a fully European space station, including transportation, infrastructure, operations, and utilization.

Supported by Lufthansa Aviation Training

Session 1B explores the concept of “exploration sovereignty” through interactive discussion based around Europe's possibilities in Martian and Lunar exploration. As space exploration becomes increasingly tied to geopolitical influence, industrial capability, and technological leadership, Europe faces growing pressure to reduce external dependencies.

In this session, participants will explore the needs of European sector if it wants to compete with other actors in 2040's and beyond.

Sponsored by UKSA

Autonomous access to space underpins Europe's security, resilience, and competitiveness, but today that autonomy is under increasing strain due to geopolitical change. Europe's access to space landscape is rapidly evolving, with innovations in small launchers, revised strategies from institutional launch providers, the development of spaceports across Europe, and a growing in-space logistics infrastructure that extends what access to space delivers once a payload reaches orbit.

Securing leadership in this evolving landscape will require coordinated progress across the full chain, from the ground infrastructure that enables launch, to the engineering and technology choices that shape tomorrow's launchers, to the kick stages, space tugs, and refilling capabilities that extend the reach and operational life of payloads in orbit. This roundtable explores how Europe positions itself across this chain to secure sovereign, competitive, and sustainable access to space by 2040.

Sponsored by CT Engineering

Supported by The Space Transportation HUB

Satellite communications are central to Europe’s security, resilience, and economic competitiveness. As geopolitical instability, jamming, cyber threats, and supply-chain disruption become more immediate, autonomy in satcom is no longer a long-term aspiration but a near-term strategic requirement. This roundtable will explore what European autonomy in satellite communications should realistically look like, where the most critical vulnerabilities sit today, and which industrial, policy, and architectural choices are needed to strengthen Europe’s position over the coming decade.

Through a mix of expert input, breakout discussions, and scenario-based exercises, delegates will examine how Europe can build more sovereign, resilient, and future-ready satcom capabilities across space, ground, software, and user segments. The discussion will also consider the role of institutional support, industrial collaboration, diversity & inclusion in the workforce and innovation programmes such as SkyPhi in shaping Europe’s next generation of connectivity infrastructure.

Sponsored by MDA Space

Earth Observation is no longer limited to traditional civil applications such as agricultural monitoring, flood resilience or climate research. In a changing geopolitical environment, the same satellites are increasingly used for military intelligence, maritime domain awareness, and critical infrastructure in light of Europe's autonomy. But how can Europe scale dual-use EO fast enough to meet security demand without breaking the commercial business case?

Sponsored by SSTL

Europe's space sector faces growing pressure to strengthen strategic autonomy, industrial resilience, and global competitiveness. While Europe has strong capabilities, investment remains fragmented across Member States, critical dependencies persist, and global competitors are moving at scale and speed.

This roundtable asks: where should ESA focus its strategic action to help Europe grow, compete, and reduce dependency? How should delegates balance trade-offs between consolidation, SME growth, national priorities, and European-level impact?

Finally, the round table works towards addressing the question of how would ESA justify this position in a press conference?

Sponsored by ESA

Europe's future space sector requires a diverse, adept workforce to sustain its growth and autonomy. How do we foster a diverse, inclusive, and inspirational European space ecosystem for the next decade?

Across the EU, STEM enrolment has declined over the past decade, with half of all member states recording falls, and despite growing awareness of skills shortages, this has not translated into more young people entering these fields. The gender gap compounds the problem: women make up just 32.2% of STEM graduates on average, with countries like Germany, Spain and Belgium below 30%. Yet the gap is not inevitable. Iceland leads with 43.3% female STEM graduates, followed by Romania at 42.1% and Estonia at 41.7%. Their success comes from starting early: Iceland's Hjalli model tackles gender stereotypes in early childhood education, Romania's specialised maths high schools and deep cultural normalisation of women in STEM have created a self-sustaining pipeline, and Estonia's investment in digital literacy from primary school upwards has made technical careers feel accessible to all. EU data are clear that STEM enrolment is shaped by early school experiences, family environments and perceptions of careers, meaning the classroom is where Europe's workforce gap will ultimately be won or lost.

As the space domain experiences an influx of new, commercial actors and nations, it is imperative that the incoming workforce is prepared to delve into questions of governance, international law, and policy. This roundtable will also explore the facilitation of inspiration and skills development for these critical humanity fields.

Recognising the social, political, and technical complexity of this question, this Roundtable presents an interactive approach to investigating the broad political drivers, academic support, and early education development necessary to develop the future of the European space industry.

This roundtable explores how Europe can position itself as a global leader in shaping a sustainable and circular space economy, with a particular focus on In-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM). As space becomes increasingly congested and strategically contested (both for commercial and defence purposes), Europe faces a critical moment to define what leadership in space through space sustainability truly entails.

The discussion will examine whether leadership should be driven by regulatory frameworks, technological capabilities, commercial innovation, or a combination of these elements. It will also address the balance between sovereign capability and international collaboration needed for Europe to remain competitive and resilient.

Through a series of interactive sessions, delegates will assess Europe's current position, explore future scenarios, and develop strategic pathways for scaling ISAM from demonstration to operational capability, ultimately contributing to a greener, more circular space ecosystem.