ESA selects SITAEL as prime contractor for HiBiDiS biodiversity mission

Amsterdam, 27 May 2026 – At SmallSat Europe in Amsterdam, Italian space company SITAEL announced that it has been confirmed as prime contractor for the European Space Agency’s Scout mission HiBiDiS, a biodiversity monitoring mission expected to launch in 2030.

The mission will use hyperspectral observations to study ecosystem sustainability and resilience, with a particular focus on forest environments. HiBiDiS is part of ESA’s Scout programme, which supports smaller missions designed to demonstrate innovative Earth observation concepts.

SITAEL will lead the mission together with partners including Belgian optical systems company AMOS, Belgian research organisation VITO and the University of Zurich. According to the consortium, the mission aims to improve observations of forest biodiversity by capturing information from both the canopy and understory, an area that remains difficult to monitor using current spaceborne systems.

The mission will be based on SITAEL’s EMPYREUM satellite platform. The company said the selection marks its first complete ESA mission as prime contractor.

The announcement was made during SmallSat Europe, where SITAEL also outlined its broader business plans, including a projected growth trajectory through 2031, continued investment in satellite manufacturing and electric propulsion, and participation in future European space programmes. The company reported a backlog exceeding €150 million and outlined a launch pipeline that includes ESA, IRIDE and PLATINO missions scheduled through 2030.

In addition, SITAEL announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Polish synthetic aperture radar company Eycore to explore cooperation in Earth observation applications and satellite services.