Due to the ongoing miniaturisation and increased performance of electronics devices, alternative cooling methods are required, specifically mechanical pumping loops (MPL). Passive two-phase loops are not capable of cooling ESA's expected power densities up to 300 W/m², so pumped two-phase loops are forecasted to replace their passive counterparts. According to Lapensée et al., “the most important component of a MPL is the pump and a pump failure directly results in MPL system failure, a reliable pump is therefore of vital importance". Wits et al.

For an extended stay on the Moon, humans require habitation with substantial protection from space radiation and micrometeorites. The lunar regolith is a readily available resource in-situ, which can be thermally treated to build lunar habitats/infrastructure and extract oxygen/water. Due to the volumetric heating characteristic intrinsic to microwave heating, it is a more energy-efficient process than solar or laser sintering for large-scale manufacturing and construction.

The high-level objective of HIPER-OSR was to develop a new class of Optical Solar Reflectors (OSR) characterized by being smart and flexible, whereas: