ESA and Mistral strengthen cooperation on artificial intelligence

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Mistral have signed a Letter of Intent establishing a strategic framework to deepen their collaboration on artificial intelligence (AI). The agreement reflects a shared ambition to strengthen Europe's technological leadership, competitiveness and resilience in both AI and space activities.

The Letter of Intent was signed in Paris on 16 September by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch, marking a new step in the growing cooperation between ESA and a major European player in the global AI landscape.

The framework will enable the two organisations to explore strategic opportunities by combining Mistral's expertise in advanced AI models and infrastructure with ESA's engineering, scientific and operational activities.

ESA Director General said: "Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a key capability for the future of space, and ESA is already demonstrating its value through operational and research projects. Through this strategic cooperation with Mistral, a leading European AI company, we are taking another important step towards reinforcing Europe's technological leadership and resilience. Together, we aim to develop innovative, secure and trusted AI solutions that benefit the space sector and European society."

The collaboration responds to the growing demand for trusted and sovereign AI capabilities across the space sector. From processing large volumes of Earth observation data to supporting mission design, engineering analysis and operational decision-making, AI is becoming an important enabler for the next generation of space activities.

Arthur Mensch, co-founder and CEO of Mistral, said: "We're proud to deepen our partnership with ESA. By combining Mistral's cutting-edge, customizable AI stack with our industrial engineering expertise, we'll turn ESA's extraordinary data into high-impact services for the space industry, while upholding the highest standards of security, control, and sovereignty."

The Letter of Intent provides a framework for exploring the use of Mistral's models, cloud infrastructure and technical capabilities in areas including Earth observation and engineering, advanced AI capabilities for space, and skills and knowledge development. The focus will be on practical applications that improve engineering activities, facilitate access to knowledge, automate repetitive tasks and support human-led technical decision-making.

The two organisations will also examine approaches for deploying relevant AI capabilities on European infrastructure, with appropriate safeguards for security, resilience, traceability, auditability and the protection of sensitive information.

The cooperation builds on existing initiatives involving ESA and Mistral, including Orbit, a secure AI assistant supporting engineering activities, and EVE (Earth Virtual Expert), a specialised capability developed through ESA's Φ-lab with European partners to support Earth observation and Earth science.

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About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe's gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 23 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with three other Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int.