Athanasios (Thanos) Vourvopoulos, professor in the Bioengineering Department and principal researcher at LaSEEB/Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR-Lisboa), will lead the newly funded NEURONAUT project, selected after a successful evaluation by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Portuguese Space Agency under the PROSSE 2025 (PRODEX for Science in Space Exploration) competition.

Over the next three years, NEURONAUT will design and validate adaptive, non-invasive Brain–Computer Interfaces (BCIs) to enhance astronaut–robot collaboration in microgravity, while also studying how microgravity affects brain function. The project will culminate in parabolic flight experiments aboard the ESA/Novespace A310 Zero-G platform.

PROSSE 2025 supports scientific projects in space exploration in Portugal and strengthens national participation in ESA’s PRODEX programme. Among all submitted proposals, only two were selected for funding. See more.