The Engineering Extremely Rare Events in Astrodynamics for Deep-Space Missions in Autonomy (EXTREMA) project wants to challenge and revolutionise the current paradigm under which spacecraft are piloted in the interplanetary space.

A multitude of miniaturised probes will soon permeate the inner solar system, aiming at the exploration of rocky planets and minor bodies. Nowadays, deep-space probes are piloted from ground. Although this is reliable, ground control slots will saturate soon, thus hampering the current momentum in space exploration.

EXTREMA’s goal is to enable self-driving miniatuarised spacecraft, which are machines that can perform Guidance, Navigation, and Control operations in a totally autonomous fashion.

We are now living exciting times for asteroid exploration. The increasing availability of in-situ observation data, providing unprecedented level of detail, makes the study of asteroids an exciting and living frontier. Asteroids are (rubble piles, gravitational aggregates of loosely consolidated material. However, no direct measurements of asteroids’ interior exist, and little is known about the mechanisms governing their formation and evolution. Not only limited by a lack of data, the understanding of asteroids’ properties is challenged at a fundamental level by their rubble-pile nature. This makes their dynamics subject to the laws of granular mechanics, one of the major unsolved problems in physics.

TRACES enables a new paradigm for the characterization of granular systems in asteroid-related scenarios. The ambition is to demonstrate that the macroscopic behaviour of granular media in asteroid environment can be inferred from local properties of the grain. The methodology lays its foundation on a cutting-edge simulation tool, able to resolve the dynamics of grains to particle-scale precision, and a theoretical framework, able to decode the chaotic nature of particle-scale dynamics.

TRACES will enable the characterization of surface and internal properties of asteroids with limited observation data. This will play a crucial role to enable the next breakthrough in asteroid science, as well as efficient design of the next generation of space missions to explore and exploit asteroids, including planetary defence applications.

GUIDO (Guidance Unified Interface for Deep-Space Spacecraft Operations) is a project aimed at developing a computational unit for CubeSats to be used for autonomous trajectory optimization for deep-space transfers. GUIDO stems from the concept of autonomous interplanetary probes foreseen in the EXTREMA project; it has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) in the form of a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) grant.

To meet the strict power and volume constraints of CubeSats, GUIDO integrates a convex optimization-based guidance algorithms using a Sequential Convex Programming approach. The system runs on a low-power System-on-Chip platform — specifically the Kria KD240 — combining CPU and FPGA components to accelerate key computations. This hardware/software co-design enables onboard execution of complex trajectory optimizations, such as minimum-fuel, low-thrust transfers.

FUTURE — Fully aUtonomous feaTUre Recognition planetary Explorer — is an in-orbit technology demonstrator developed under the ALCOR program of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Its primary goal is to enhance satellites onboard autonomy through visual observations of the Earth from LEO orbit.

The mission focuses on developing a fully autonomous position estimation capability to reduce reliance on ground operators, support services, and communication infrastructure. Sensors on board the 6U CubeSat will power artificial intelligence algorithms capable of identifying characteristics on the Earth's surface and autonomously calculating the satellite's position. The CubeSat will be developed by Tyvak International, in partnership with an entirely Italian consortium that includes AIKO, ALTEC, and the Politecnico di Milano.

While FUTURE is designed for Low Earth Orbit (LEO), its technologies have strong potential for future applications beyond Earth, including autonomous navigation around the Moon and other planets.

The escalation of deep-space miniaturized satellites will soon lead to saturation of ground-based facilities. Deep-space missions will soon become unsustainable with current human-controlled flight-related operations.

SENSE challenges the current paradigm under which spacecraft are navigated in the interplanetary space putting forward nanoSENSE, an autonomous navigation sensor that triangulates the spacecraft position observing planets and asteroids.

The impact of nanoSENSE is tremendous: spacecraft will be detached from ground control, solar system science will no longer be limited by our capability to operate satellites, deep-space missions will autonomously travel in the solar system, and space mission costs will drop significantly. All in all, nanoSENSE has the potential to enable low-cost and autonomous deep-space missions.

A new space era is approaching. Motivated by a great scientific interest and unique potential of technological exploitation, the exploration of minor bodies is escalating. This emerging trend is hampered by current close-proximity operations, which are executed from ground. Although this is safe and reliable, it is clearly inadequate to sustain a massive minor-body exploration, due to cost and limited availability of ground resources.

The overarching aim of the COSMICA project (Close-proximity Operations for Small-body Missions with Interplanetary Cubesats in Autonomy) is to enable autonomous operations about minor celestial bodies to any kind of spacecraft. The goal is to overcome current limitations in the GNC capabilities in the challenging context of small-body exploration.

A new space era is coming. Numerous miniaturized probes will soon pervade the solar system for commercial and exploration needs. In the next future, minor bodies will be the final destination of diverse space missions, since they can give answers to the origin of life and provide resources for the sustainable development of humanity. However, the state-of-the-art is to control space probes from ground. The need for large teams and specific infrastructures yields extremely expensive operations that do not scale for small probes.

The CASTOR project (Challenging Autonomous Spacecraft through Trajectory Optimization with Robustness) will address the spacecraft operation problem by fostering autonomous guidance and control for future small satellites in the vicinity of minor bodies. In order to reach its aim, the project envisages an efficient method for robust guidance and control in close proximity and its deployment on a SoC exploiting GPUs. CASTOR foresees also the involvement of NASA and ESA to reach its objectives and maximize its future impact.

The outcomes from this project will have a significant impact on the future of space exploration and exploitation, increasing dramatically the potential scientific return and opening the space and its market to new operators, such as small enterprises and universities.

Expanding launch capacity and modern spacecraft technology foreshadow an era when deep-space missions will occur routinely. To support this cadence, the ground-centric planning and communications model must be augmented with trustworthy onboard autonomy.

The project Facilitating Autonomy in Astrodynamics for Spacecraft Technology (FAAST) synthesizes two pertinent tools in spaceflight under one framework: state transition tensors/differential algebra and convex optimization. The former enables complex systems to be represented by efficiently pre-computed information, and the latter is a promising and highly stable optimizer backend for onboard decision making. The goal is to enable reliable operation in the unruly three-body arenas around small bodies and in cislunar space.
Publications and open-source codes can be found at https://zenodo.org/communities/faast-msca

Funded by the European Union. Grant Agreement ID: 101063274

The Lunar Meteoroid Impact Observer (LUMIO) mission’s goal is to observe, quantify, and characterize the meteoroid impacts by detecting their flashes on the lunar farside.

Earth-based lunar observations are limited by atmospheric effects, viewing geometry, and illumination conditions, whereas a lunar orbiter can achieve higher detection rates of lunar impact flashes and enable extended continuous monitoring.

LUMIO is a CubeSat mission to a quasi-halo orbit at Earth–Moon system L2 Lagrangian point.It complements Earth-based observations of the lunar nearside by providing global information on the lunar meteoroid environment and contributing to Lunar Situational Awareness (LSA)

Milani is a 6U CubeSat developed as part of ESA’s Hera mission, the European contribution to the ESA-NASA Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment (AIDA) collaboration for planetary defense. Hera will be the first mission to rendezvous with a binary asteroid system, 65803 Didymos, following NASA’s DART impact on its moon Dimorphos in 2022.

Launched on 7 October 2024, Hera will release two CubeSats, Milani and Juventas, near its target in late 2026. They will be the first CubeSats to operate in deep space close to a small body and to perform scientific and technological investigations around a binary asteroid.

Milani will study the system’s global composition, surface features, and impact site, and will detect dust using the ASPECT hyperspectral imager and VISTA micro-thermogravimetre. It will also demonstrate innovative technologies such as autonomous navigation and an Inter-Satellite Link with the Hera mothership.

The team at Politecnico di Milano supports the mission through trajectory design, GNC algorithms, and the scientific analysis and operations of the Navigation Camera.

The Mars-PASS project, part of an ESA Pre-Phase A study, explores the preliminary design of low-cost satellite platforms for Mars exploration. These small "Passenger" satellites will be transported to Martian orbit by a "LightShip" equipped with electric propulsion, which will later serve as a node in the MARCONI (MARs COmmunication and Navigation Infrastructure) network. This system enables communication and navigation without the need for large onboard antennas or heavy propulsion systems.

The study evaluates the adaptation of SITAEL satellite platforms for the Martian environment. As Prime Contractor, DART Lab leads the project’s coordination and provides technical expertise in mission analysis, orbit characterization, mission requirements definition, Model-Based Systems Engineering, and platform design support.

As part of the SATIS Phase A mission study, the DART Lab has conducted extensive reachability analyses of a large set of Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs), with a particular focus on their suitability for planetary defense applications.

Originally conceived to observe asteroid (99942) Apophis before and during its close flyby of Earth in April 2029, SATIS is a 12U CubeSat that may also serve as a versatile platform for future deep-space missions. To prepare for potential mission re-targeting scenarios, we evaluated the feasibility of reaching alternative NEAs—including objects listed as potentially hazardous and those on ESA’s Risk List—using a realistic low-thrust electric propulsion model.

The study encompasses trajectory optimization, detailed mission design toward selected targets, and sensitivity analyses to assess performance under operational constraints. This work demonstrates the strategic value of small spacecraft in enabling agile, cost-effective missions for planetary defense.

The Asteroid Exploration and Geophysical In-Situ Survey (AEGIS) mission is designed to rendezvous with a Near-Earth Asteroid, perform remote characterization, and deploy a lander for direct surface investigations.

NEAs are relics from the early Solar System, preserving clues about its primordial conditions and offering insight into planetary formation, material diversity, and collisional history. Many NEAs are thought to be rubble piles—aggregates of loosely bound material—making them key to understanding small-body geophysics and enabling future planetary defense strategies.

AEGIS will conduct a comprehensive analysis of asteroid composition and structure, while also demonstrating critical technologies for future In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). The mission will contribute to scientific discovery, planetary protection, and the development of sustainable space exploration.

The integration of information technology components into space systems, including both satellites and ground stations, enhances their capabilities, but also introduces a new spectrum of vulnerabilities.

The project Satellite Operations Cyber RAnge for Testing and Evaluation (SOCRATE) aims to build a system that integrates, within the existing BVTech S.p.A. Cyber Range, a simulation platform for satellite systems. The goal is to emulate all components, such as ground segment, communication channel, and satellite, and to perform both cyber and physical event simulations that may affect the system itself once the satellite is in orbit.

Using a modular approach that will allow a complex scenario to be composed in an additive manner, the simulation platform, integrated into the Cyber Range, will allow different satellite mission scenarios to be parameterized.

SOCRATE is proposed by BVTech S.p.A. and funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in collaboration with the Departments of Aerospace Science and Technology (DAER) and of Electrotechnics, Information and Bioengineering (DEIB) of the Politecnico di Milano.

The Investigation of  Solar sails technology and Asteroid Analysis with a Cubesat (ISAAC) studies the potential of using solar sail propulsion to enable CubeSat-scale missions for the scientific exploration of Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs).

This early-phase study aims to assess the feasibility and mission concept for a small spacecraft propelled by sunlight alone, exploring how such a system could support low-cost, long-duration missions beyond Earth orbit.

By focusing on both the application of solar sail technology and the scientific return from NEA exploration, ISAAC lays the groundwork for future deep-space CubeSat missions that operate without conventional propulsion systems.

RCS-1 is a 6U CubeSat developed as part of the ESA’s RAMSES mission to asteroid Apophis, which will make a close flyby of Earth on April 13, 2029. Scheduled for launch in April 2028, the RAMSES mission will arrive at Apophis in February 2029 and deploy two CubeSats during its proximity operations: RCS-1, the orbiter, and RCS-2, the lander. The deployment of RCS-1 is planned for March 2029.

The primary goal of RCS-1 is to support RAMSES' asteroid and planetary defence research by providing complementary scientific observations, enabling multi-point measurements, and performing close-up or higher-risk operations that are not feasible for the main spacecraft. Through these contributions, RCS-1 will enhance the mission’s ability to characterize the asteroid system and improve our readiness for future planetary defence scenarios.

Scientifically, RCS-1 will contribute to the understanding of asteroid formation processes, internal structure, surface properties, and dynamical behavior. Its mission includes characterizing both the surface and the interior of Apophis, helping to build a more complete picture of the asteroid’s composition and mechanical structure. This data will be crucial for validating planetary defence models and strategies.

RCS-1 will provide continuous and detailed observation of Apophis before, during, and after the Earth flyby, capturing critical data throughout the mission timeline.

The team at Politecnico di Milano supports the mission with expertise in trajectory design, mission analysis, GNC algorithms, and scientific analysis and operations for the onboard Navigation Camera. This builds upon the heritage developed for the Milani CubeSat of ESA’s Hera mission, further advancing capability in deep-space CubeSat operations.

The ESA Autonomous Relative Navigation Using Star Tracker Images (STAR-Nav) project aims to explore whether star trackers — typically used to determine satellite orientation — can also be used to autonomously determine spacecraft trajectories. The project involves developing autonomous navigation tailored to the specific characteristics of star tracker sensors. To test the algorithms, a dedicated validation plan was implemented, including simulations with synthetic images, processor-in-the-loop, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.

The consortium included the DART Lab and Leonardo SpA. Specifically, the DART Lab developed the autonomous optical navigation algorithms, which were subsequently programmed into the star tracker’s microcontroller. After an initial phase of algorithm validation using synthetic images, we developed a detailed validation plan, including processor-in-the-loop and camera-in-the-loop simulations. We completed the algorithm validation using the optical stimulator at the DART Lab. Thanks to this equipment, the star tracker was able to acquire images as if it were in orbit, processing the generated data and validating the optical navigation algorithms up to TRL 5.