Video credit: C3S LLC – satellite platform provider & integrator

UV-Visible Spectrophotometry of Stars

Science

Stellar

Duration

3 Years

Days in Orbit

—

Primary Mirror

13 cm

Coverage

200 – 700 nm

Spectral Resolution

10.5 nm (R=20–65)

Mauve is a UV-Visible satellite conceived to study stars in our galaxy, providing a greater understanding of their magnetic activity, powerful flares, and the impact on the habitability of neighbouring exoplanets. Data from the satellite is delivered via a multi-year collaborative science programme, with thousands of hours each year available for long observations of hundreds of stars, unlocking a significant time domain astronomy opportunity.

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Media Kit

February 2026

Mauve observes its first star.

December 2025

Mauve Science Programme members convene in London.

November 2025

Mauve launched successfully! First contact made.

November 2025

Mauve to launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-15 on 28 November 2025.

September 2025

Satellite integrated into the deployment pod.

September 2025

Satellite shipped to the launch site.

July 2025

European Commission delegate inspects Mauve.

July 2025

Environmental test campaign completed.

June 2025

Satellite integration completed. Testing underway.

May 2025

Payload integration completed.

April 2025

Flatsat testing conducted.

March 2025

ISISPACE delivers pointing systems. Satellite integration begins.

February 2025

Payload is shipped for integration following final payload tests.

November 2024

Integrated payload testing begins.

May 2024

Order placed for flight hardware.

March 2024

Engineering module test bed started.

February 2024

Engineering module of spectrometer is delivered to C3S.

April 2023

System design interfaces agreed.

November 2022

Project kick-off meeting held at Blue Skies Space HQ in London.

October 2022

Mauve is announced, after securing European Commission funding.

Satellite

Mauve was built in collaboration with leading satellite and instrument manufacturers C3S LLC and ISISPACE. The high-heritage approach to the design and component selection delivered a high-specification astronomy satellite within the short timeframes usually associated with commercial satellites. The satellite is in a low-Earth orbit, maximising opportunities for science observations along the ecliptic plane.

Technical Specifications

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Delivered by

Science Programme

The scientific direction of Mauve is driven by its research community, and participating scientists shape the mission’s goals and observational strategies, ensuring the possibility for high-risk and high-reward science. Thousands of observational hours will be dedicated to each year of the programme, with many stars continuously available within Mauve’s wide field of regard, enabling long baseline observations and unlocking a significant time domain astronomy opportunity. Mauve’s wide field of regard covers the entire ecliptic plane and parts of the galactic plane, including the centre, and enables extended observation campaigns to support in-depth studies of stellar variability.

Candidate target list coloured by spectral type across Mauve's field of regard

The programme supports a rich and diverse set of research themes, showcasing the mission’s wide potential and the creativity of our community. Regular data releases will be made to all members throughout the mission lifetime, with the Blue Skies Space team providing full-time support to assist in the provision and exploitation of the data.

Request access to the Payload Simulator

Read the Payload Simulator paper

Science Areas

Stellar Activity

Mauve will constrain the spectral energy distribution of stars, providing critical insights into poorly understood dynamic events such as flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Mauve's capabilities will fill the gap in high-cadence observations by allowing both long-duration and repeated observations of target stars, enabling detailed measurements of flare frequency, intensity, and temporal evolution, along with investigations into the role of flares as potential precursors to CMEs. These observations will improve models of stellar activity and enhance our understanding of stellar radiation mechanisms.

Classical Be/Ae Stars

Mauve will survey classical Be and Ae stars to investigate the mechanisms driving disk ejection. Mauve's broad spectral coverage will provide spectral energy distributions (SEDs) that reveal gravitational darkening, providing more accurate rotational measurements than optical data alone. By collecting multi-wavelength SEDs for a statistically significant sample, data from Mauve will advance models of disk formation and evolution. This will improve the understanding of the kinematics and evolutionary behaviour of rapid rotators, addressing fundamental questions about the origin and persistence of decretion disks.

Image: Pablo Carlos Budassi, CC BY-SA 4.0

Herbig Ae/Be Stars

Mauve will obtain high-quality, broadband spectrophotometric data of the brightest Herbig Ae/Be stars to improve characterisation of their accretion, disk ejection, and variability. Through systematic, time-resolved observations, Mauve will gather hundreds of hours of near-ultraviolet and visible data, creating the first extensive dataset on temporal accretion behaviour in intermediate-mass pre-main-sequence stars. This dataset will be crucial in bridging our understanding of stellar formation and evolution across the low- to high-mass spectrum.

Image: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / A. Isella / B. Saxton

Exoplanet Hosts

Mauve's observation of young planet-hosting stars will complement planetary transmission spectroscopic data by providing detailed spectral energy distributions (SEDs) that improve our understanding of stellar magnetic activity and its signatures in the near-ultraviolet. By combining short observations with long-term monitoring, Mauve will characterise stellar activity cycle variations and their influence on planetary environments. These insights are crucial for understanding atmospheric escape processes and assessing the long-term stability, habitability, and evolution of exoplanets.

Binary Systems

Binary star systems give rise to a variety of evolutionary pathways that differ from single-star evolution. Collecting a spectral database of these systems provides information on stellar evolution, stellar parameters, mass determination, period-luminosity relationships, and activity. Binary star systems also offer a unique opportunity to study the effects of stellar interactions and mass transfer, which significantly influence their formation and evolution. Additional variability of these systems due to changes in the mass transfer rate or the geometry of the accretion process can be measured using Mauve.

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Read the paper on the first year of the science programme

Watch a webinar recording of the science goals and opportunities for the first year

Data Access

Participation in the Mauve science programme is available through annual membership plans tailored for individuals, research groups, and institutions. For more information on membership and how to join, please contact us.

Curated, calibrated datasets

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Comprehensive support

We’ve built the next generation of simulation, data management, and collaboration tools into a single platform: Stardrive. It empowers our global network of researchers to easily plan, simulate, and schedule observational programs on our satellites for delivering impactful science.

Watch an Introduction to Stardrive

Acknowledgement of Horizon Europe Funding

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101082738 and was supported by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s Horizon Europe Guarantee Scheme.