Mosaic

Mosaic, or Micro Satellite Applications in Collaboration, was a government project led by BNSC with one of its partners, the MOD, funding half the TopSat project. The Mosaic programme provided £15 million, between 2000 and 2005, to fund three demonstration missions that tested small or "micro" satellite technology. 

The UK is pioneering the development of these new technologies and techniques, which aim to show that a simple, economically-built spacecraft can achieve the same high-level results as traditional satellites.

Using small satellites, scientists can build and launch new satellites faster and much more cheaply. It could have a huge impact on the future of space missions and significantly reduce the cost of using satellite technology on Earth. It's therefore vital for our economy that we maintain our momentum and remain one of the world's leading manufacturers of this technology.

Mosaic gave scientists and companies in the UK the opportunity to submit ideas for new missions that would test the effectiveness and application of small satellite capability. The three winners, announced in 2000, were Gemini, TopSat and DMC. The three teams responsible received the funding to take their ideas through to launch.

Read more about TopSat and DMC in our Missions section.