The ESA Payload Masters comes on the back of ESA’s commitment to develop the European space industry, based on industrialisation and the commercialisation of space products and services, upscaling on global markets, as well as access to new sources of investments and finance. This initiative builds on the well-proven tool of an innovation competition in partnership with AZO Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen as the Organiser of the competition and in cooperation with The Exploration Company (TEC). The purpose of the ESA Payload Masters is to promote and scout for innovative in-orbit experiments and novel technologies for payloads, while also facilitating the democratization of space exploration for space and non-space industries. Being one of the main tools to boost companies’  competitiveness by eliminating the famous “valley of death” and accelerating the deployment of innovative technology, the access to in-Orbit Demonstration and Validation (IOD/IOV) is in the core of this programme.