SGAC – OHB SE Competition 2026

OHB SE, one of Europe’s prominent satellite developers, and SGAC are collaborating to support two students or young professionals to attend the 24th Space Generation Congress (SGC) and the 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) on 2nd to 4th October and 5th to 9th October 2026 respectively in Antalya, Türkiye.

Application deadline: 23 May 2026, 23:59 UTC.

Description

After 5 decades humanity is returning to the Moon. And this time the goal is to stay. Through Artemis, the US aims to establish their presence on the moon, creating new opportunities for science, industry, and exploration. At the same time, other global actors are accelerating their lunar ambitions, including China’s plans for an international lunar research station and an increasing set of spacefaring nations.

Europe and with that ESA stand at a pivotal moment. Close cooperation with the US opens major opportunities, yet Europe also seeks to contribute its own perspective and capabilities. With initiatives like the Argonaut lunar lander or moon port, the European industry signals that it intends to become an active provider of transportation, logistics, and surface services in a potential lunar economy.

A commercial landscape is taking shape around transportation, robotics, energy systems, communications, and early resource utilization. However, sustained lunar activity will require efficient development processes, robust partnerships, and business models that extend beyond symbolic exploration.

We would like to hear your thoughts on this topic by writing a short abstract (500 words) and recording a video (2 min) answering 2-3 of the following questions: 

• What are the most promising markets, technologies, and services for a future lunar economy?
• On the way to the lunar surface and under the view of partnerships with NASA, how can realistic barter deals be set up with other space agencies? How can we generate win-win situations also with a view strategic priority and a future approach into commercialization?
• Are science, exploration, and prestige sufficient to sustain a lunar ecosystem, or are new commercial drivers needed?
• What role should public funding, incentives, and international cooperation frameworks play?
• How will global competition influence timelines, partnerships, and business models?

Award

The 2 authors of the 2 winning essays will receive an award in order to attend the following events:

• 24th Space Generation Congress (SGC): 2nd to 4th October 2026
• 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC): 5th to 9th October 2026 

The award will include provisions for travel, accommodation, and registration for SGC and IAC. The amount for each of the two partial scholarships is € 2000. The winners will sit with the OHB team at the SGC gala dinner. 

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your complete application using the Scholarship Submission Form. 

Please submit your documents as unlocked PDF /.mp4 files. Your name(s) should be included at the top of all pages. Your submission should follow the competition guidelines below.

Guidelines

Eligibility

• The competition is open to all registered SGAC members between the ages of 18 to 35 inclusive (up to the day of their 36th birthday) on 9th October 2026
• The competition is open to students and young professionals.
• Only 1 author per essay/video submission.
• Competition organizers and judges are not eligible for this award.

Submission

We expect two submission files: 

1. Abstract
   • It is due as an unlocked PDF document under 5 MB. 
   • It shall be submitted via the Scholarship Submission Form. You will need to be logged in as an SGAC member to access the submission page.
   • The paper should be limited to 500 words maximum. If selected as winner, OHB will then ask you for the full elaboration of your work.
2. Video
   • It is due as an unlocked .mp4 file under 200 MB.
   • It shall be submitted via the Scholarship Submission Form. You will need to be logged in as an SGAC member to access the submission page.
   • The video should be limited to 2 min. If selected as winner, OHB will then ask you for the full elaboration of your work.
   • The video will be assessed with the focus on content / answering of questions rather than design or technique.

General: 

• • The language of all submissions shall be English.
  • The submission shall include original content and research. Work that has already been presented at a past conference or previously submitted to this competition is not eligible.
  • The paper should conform to all the rules for the submission to the IAC (including font, font size, page margin, pictures, etc..) with exception to length. An abstract submission and/or acceptance to the IAC is not required, this is a separate paper competition. 
  • All team submissions must be done by one point of contact, main author of the paper and only person that will be recognised as the winner and reimbursed for the competition.
  • The winners of the competition will be required to deliver to OHB a presentation about their paper.
  • All submissions shall be made by the 23rd of May 2026, 23:59 GMT. Any submissions after the deadlines will not be considered.
  • In case of lack of quality of submissions, SGAC has the right to extend and or cancel the competition.

Responsibilities of the Winners

The winning authors shall:

• Attend the entire SGC 2026.
• Attend the entire IAC 2026.
• Support the running of SGC and the SGAC booth at IAC 2026. These tasks offer great opportunities such as being the front face of SGAC at the SGAC booth and meeting interesting people.
• Meet with the competition supporters during IAC 2026, if a meeting is agreed. 
• Submit a short video (1 minute) describing their experience at SGC and IAC for inclusion on the SGAC website, newsletter or social media and that of our partner. The report and video shall describe the experience of the winner at the events. For example, speakers that were particularly interesting, group discussions that stood out or other event highlights.

All responsibilities shall be fulfilled and reports etc. submitted no later than 11th November 2026. In case the scholarship awardees do not complete the scholarship requirements on time, the scholarship funds will be transferred to SGAC general budget to continue supporting the mission and work of SGAC. 

Reimbursement

1. The award will be paid out after the SGC / IAC 2026. 
2. The scholarship award reimbursement is conditioned on the awardee fulfilling the scholarship requirements no later than 11th November 2026.
3. In the case the winners receive funding for SGC and/or IAC 2026 by any other organization, the Scholarships Team shall be informed. If the applicants don’t inform the Scholarships Coordinators, SGAC holds the right not to reimburse the winning author. SGAC aims to reduce the number of double scholarships and will work with the winners to develop a solution in these cases.
4. Applicants are advised not to engage in any expenses until they have formal confirmation that the competition has been awarded. The SGAC is not liable for any expenses incurred by applicants in any case where a competition is not awarded, or in excess of the value of the awarded grant.
5. Reimbursements will follow the SGAC Scholarships Travel Policy & Reimbursement Guidelines. Please make sure to consult the Guidelines before incurring in expenses.

Copyright and Intellectual Property

1. By submitting an entry, applicants agree to permit SGAC and all affiliated organizers to mention their names, affiliations and headshot picture in connection with the competition.
2. Copyright of the submitted entry shall remain with the contestants. However, by submitting an entry all contestants agree that SGAC and all affiliated organizers are granted non-exclusive reproduction rights regarding all submitted papers. SGAC and all affiliated organizers may also present ideas and findings generated by this competition at relevant conferences.

Liability

1. Organizers shall not be responsible in the event that SGC 2026 and/or IAC 2026 is canceled. SGAC will not reimburse the winning author, even if he/she has already incurred expenses.
2. Organizers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner(s) fails to attend SGC 2026 and/or IAC 2026 or is unable to under extenuating circumstances; in that case the award offer shall become void.
3. Organizers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner(s) cannot obtain any necessary travel documents; if they are required but not obtained, the award offer shall become void.

Evaluation

Evaluators will include members of the SGAC Scholarships team and OHB SE employees.

The evaluation will be made based on a point system taking following criteria and their weights into consideration:

• Scientific Content and Detail (40%)
• Originality (40%)
• Description of Concept (20%)

Schedule

Contact

For any questions, please refer to the SGAC Scholarships Team at [email protected]

Sponsor

SGAC would like to thank the OHB SE for their support to run this competition.

OHB SE is one of the three leading space systems integrators in Europe and employs more than 3000 people in 10 countries. OHB SE is divided into the three business segments SPACE SYSTEMS, AEROSPACE and DIGITAL. The company has over 40 years of experience in the development of space systems for earth observation, navigation, telecommunications, science, and reconnaissance. They are working in close collaboration with the European Space Agency and the DLR on missions like the ISS programme, the lunar gateway, PLATO and ExoMars.

More information at: www.ohb.de  and www.ohb-system.de 

If you or your organization is interested in providing talented students and young professionals with the opportunity to share their work and ideas with global space community, please contact competition coordinators ([email protected]).

Past Winners

• 2025
  • Zander du Toit – “Manufacturing the Future: In-Space Production as the Cornerstone of a Sustainable LEO Economy”
  • Alessandro Paravano – “Cross-Fertilization in Commercial Space Station Ecosystems: A Catalyst for Innovation and Growth”
• 2024
  • Diana Espita – “Volatiles Elements Storage: The future of the space resource utilization in the cislunar economy”
  • Arya Das – “Cis-lunar Economy – Challenges and Future”
• 2023
  • Nadia Lamera – “The beginning of a new era of planetary defence: from Arecibo to adaptive optics technology”
  • Danlei Chen – “Evolving International Legal Framework for NEA Resource Utilisation “
  • Ravneet Kaur – “Evolving International Legal Framework for NEA Resource Utilisation“

• 2022:
  • Clément Loneux – “The Moon’s Data Marketplace”
  • Anton Liegert – 
• 2021: 
  • Tania Gres – “Food management for a base on the Moon, sustaining its harsh environment”
• 2019: 
  • Matej Poliacek – “PNT Luna”; and 
  • Stefan Panajotović – “Moon Fibre- Fibres from Lunar Regolith”
• 2018: 
  • Avid Roman-Gonzalez – “Spatio-temporal analysis of deforestation in areas of the Peruvian Amazon and its relationship with climate change“; and 
  • Sathesh Raj V Periasamey – “Earth Observation Applications, Societal Challenges and Economic Benefits“
• 2017: 
  • Manfred Ehresmann – “Asteroid Mining in the Context of the Future Space-Economy”; and 
  • Enrique Garcia Bourne  – “Design for a commercial asteroid mining mission”.
• 2016: 
  • Alice Barthe – “GEO Space Debris mapping with Space-Based Phased-Array RADAR”; and 
  • Octavio Ponce – Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Circular SAR for High Altitude Pseudo-Satellites
• 2015: 
  • Ignasi Lluch I Cruz – “Solving the communications bottleneck: a federated approach for earth observation missions”

Scholarships Application Form