This Horizon Europe grant is to be understood within a wider context on EUSST, where other grants are being executed simultaneously with the common objective of improving the EU autonomy on Space Surveillance and Tracking. In particular, this TOP focuses on: - Support the upgrade, development and security issues of EUSST infrastructure based on the European network of assets (sensors, operation centres, front desk …) - The EUSST infrastructure will remain under national control (meaning mainly sensors and operation centres), but increased coordination is needed due to the increased number of assets contributing to the European SST system. - SST networking of sensors & operation centres (EU SST network Command & Control): considering the increased number of objects to be handled, an increased number of events and users is expected. - The European SST system has to evolve to a coordinated scheduling of the resources and assets, ensuring that the events are covered in an optimum way, while the current survey and tracking of the space objects population continues to be performed. - Research on EUSST network hardening against external threats: the research concerns security-critical aspects of the existing EU SST network. - Next generation exchange protocols / solutions for SSA enhancing interoperability and security (robustness, information assurance, intrusion detection…) The starting point of these activities is the output of 2-3SST2018-20, which constitutes the state of the art on SST matters.

The project “PER ASPERA (ASTRA)” (Latin meaning “Through hardships to the stars”) aims at developing an integrated master plan (a.k.a. roadmap) of activities and associated activity descriptions, for a Strategic Research Cluster (SRC) in Space Robotics Technology. The roadmap will be implemented within a Strategic Research Cluster (SRC) through operational grants, which will be recommended by PERASPERA and issued by the European Commission. PERASPERA will plan and accompany the SRC to attain its overall objective to deliver, within the 2023/2024 framework, key enabling technologies and demonstrate autonomous robotic systems at a significant scale as key elements for on-orbit satellite servicing and planetary exploration. The main deliverables of the PERASPERA project will be: [1] a thoroughly coordinated/harmonised roadmap of space robotics technologies, concept development and demonstration activities. The coordination/harmonisation relies in the pre-existing network of the partners, complemented by new measures implemented by PERASPERA [2] draft text for the calls (and related technical annexes) that will allow tightly coupled developments across different operational grants [3] a Plan for the analysis and evaluation of the results of the SRC, that will be enacted by the PSA across its duration [4] a Plan for the specific exploitation and potential use of the SRC expected outputs that will also consider spin-out [5] a plan for risk assessment and contingency analysis [6] wide-reaching dissemination and outreach actions to communicate to the public and educate the young engineers that will make space robotics become mainstream

This Horizon Europe grant is to be understood within a wider context on EUSST, where other grants are being executed simultaneously with the common objective of improving the EU autonomy on Space Surveillance and Tracking. In particular, this TOP focuses on: - Foster European cooperation in the SST domain and improve the EUSST performance towards larger autonomy. - Highlight and propose solutions to fill the gaps in the current EUSST architecture. - Pave the way on which the EUSST system has to evolve towards a higher level of performance (e.g. accuracy; number / size of catalogued objects...), quality of service (e.g. timeliness of information...) and autonomy. - Demonstrate the complementarity, coherence and added-value of each element of EUSST system towards a more autonomous, interoperable SST system. - Explore and look for higher levels of cooperation with other SST systems such as the US SSA system which is of paramount importance to develop long-term cooperation. - Raise the main issues and propose relevant answers to questions posed by all those developments in various technical and operational domains based on the outcome of the previous STM coordination and support actions developed under H2020Insert here text for your proposal. - Propose adaptation to the new changes, and solutions for their possible integration into the existing standards, practices and technological means. The starting point of these activities is the output of 2-3SST2018-20, which constitutes the state of the art on SST matters.

The Qombs project aims to create a quantum simulator platform made of ultracold atoms in optical lattices. The quantum platform will allow to design and engineer a new generation of quantum cascade laser frequency combs. This unprecedented quantum simulation of semiconductor structures will endow the devices with brand new features, like non-classical emission modes, entanglement among the modes of the comb and parametric generation of comb patterns far from the central emission frequency. In parallel, the quantum simulation will allow to improve present-day performances of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) and quantum well structures for photon detection. Full quantum simulation will be followed by real manufacturing and state-of-the-art characterization. The consortium gathers Research Institutions that have a leading expertise in the physics of ultracold atoms, quantum optics and have first introduced and developed frequency comb synthesizers and quantum well structures during the last 20 years. Moreover, half of the ten partners of the Project are companies of different size that are already leading the QCL and frequency comb market. This unique combination will allow to rapidly move from the fundamental quantum simulation protocols to prototypes and eventually to the industrial production and commercialization of the new devices. The long term vision of the Qombs consortium is to create a strong and world-wide leading European quantum industry on quantum cascade laser frequency combs tightly and strategically connected to the academic world.

The Reaching Excellence in Hyperspectral Remote Sensing (EXPERT) twinning proposal aims at improving the excellence capacity and resources of Romanian Space Agency (ROSA) in hyperspectral (HS) remote sensing through knowledge and best practices transfer by Italian Space Agency (ASI) and German Aerospace Center (DLR), i.e. the internationally leading space agencies on satellite, airborne and ground-based HS technologies, including the recent PRISMA, EnMAP, and DESIS missions. The project represents an excellent opportunity to broaden ROSA’s activities, which in turn will increase the involvement of both national and European stakeholders in its research and innovation tasks. The concept of EXPERT is underpinned by three fundamental pillars (research, coordination and support measures, and research management and administration skills), in accordance with the objectives of the proposal. Specifically, the project is focused on capacity building in HS data analysis and ground measurement campaigns, achieved through specific courses, seminars, short staff exchanges, and field campaigns organized under the guidance of ASI and DLR. Considering the clear interdisciplinarity of EXPERT, focus will be given on ROSA’s main areas of expertise and applications, including agriculture, cultural heritage application, and mineralogy. These will also be the topics of joint research in the second part of the project, where ROSA will organize autonomously ground measurement field campaigns and use the data jointly with simultaneous acquisitions of EnMAP, PRISMA, and DESIS data provided by ASI and DLR. Furthermore, special attention will be given to strengthening the research management capacities and administrative skills of ROSA. Together with knowledge advancement, research infrastructure development, joint networking, and outreach activities by the consortium members, these will lead to improving the impact and visibility of ROSA within the EU.