Image credit JAXA
Our Work
As members of a science team involved in international planetary defense missions, our research focuses on various areas such as astrodynamics, Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) algorithms for proximity operations around small celestial bodies, ejecta particles dynamics, planetary science, space robotics, solar sail technology, optimization, and autonomy.
REMORA Project
REMORA - REndezvous Mission for Orbital Reconstruction of Asteroids: A fleet of Self-driven CubeSats for Tracking and Characterising Asteroids. A multi-mission architecture requires an autonomous CubeSat to plan its own mission reducing the costs for ground support. We are developing a GNC software for a self-operational CubeSat in proximity of an asteroid. This exciting project has the potential to revolutionise our understanding of asteroids and their behavior in space.
Hera Mission
Hera is set to conduct an in-depth survey of Dimorphos, the asteroid that was targeted for impact by NASA's DART spacecraft. The survey will provide detailed information about the impact and help us gain a better understanding of the asteroid characteristics. We look forward to the valuable insights that this mission will provide.
Hayabusa2 Sharp Mission
In 2020, the Hayabusa2 mission accomplished the feat of bringing back samples of asteroid Ryugu to Earth. The spacecraft has been renamed as Hayabusa2 Sharp and its mission has been extended until 2031. The primary objective of the mission is to study the origin and evolution of the Solar System, as well as to gain insights into the beginnings of life. Furthermore, the mission seeks to advance the limits of deep space exploration technology by taking on new challenges
DART Mission
The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) built and managed NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). This was the first-ever planetary defense technology demonstration that validated the use of a kinetic impactor spacecraft for asteroid deflection by changing the orbit of Dimorphos around Didymos of 32 minutes.
4D Printed OrigamiSat
We prototyped an innovative mechanical design of Self-Reconfiguring 4D-Printed OrigamiSats with a new concept for solar sailing. Connected Everything II feasibility study Grant Ref: EP/S036113/1 led by the University of Liverpool's Soldini Space Group.
