Master's degree theses

Deep space navigation (tracking spacecraft beyond the lunar orbit) faces major challenges due to the absence of GNSS coverage and the limited availability of ground stations. Current systems, such as NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) and ESA’s ESTRACK, employ Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) for angular positioning. While effective, terrestrial VLBI is constrained by limited baselines, atmospheric distortions requiring calibration, and reduced target visibility caused by Earth’s rotation. To address these limitations, a novel approach based on space-based interferometry has been proposed. In this concept, signals from interplanetary spacecraft are received and cross-correlated by a constellation of Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites. This configuration extends baselines, eliminates atmospheric phase errors, and provides near-continuous visibility, but demands extremely accurate orbit determination (OD) of the GEO platforms.
Activities:
Conduct a literature review on VLBI methods for deep space navigation.
Develop a simulation environment for GEO orbit determination using JPL’s MONTE toolkit.
Quantify achievable OD accuracies under different tracking configurations, including GNSS measurements, Doppler and range data from Earth stations, and hybrid duty-cycle scenarios.
This thesis combines advanced OD simulation, estimation theory, and mission design, contributing to future autonomous deep space navigation concepts.

Topic: Deep Space Navigation
Tutor: Riccardo Lasagni Manghi
Uploaded: 17/09/2025

Hera is a European Space Agency space mission, aimed at conducting an in-depth investigation of the Didymos binary asteroid system following the impact of the DART spacecraft (NASA) on Dimorphos. One of Hera's primary objectives is to accurately estimate the mass and mass distribution of both asteroids. This entails determining the gravity field of Didymos and Dimorphos with precision, offering valuable insights into their overall mass and internal distribution.

To assess the expected accuracy in the gravity field of the asteroids, our approach involved tracking and modelling Hera, Juventas and Milani spacecrafts in orbit around the asteroids. This thesis introduces a complementary method to gauge the sensitivity to the asteroids' gravity field, following the approach adopted by OSIRIS-REx at Bennu. This method entails tracking, using spacecraft-based images, and modeling pebble-sized particles that might have been ejected from Dimorphos' surface after the DART impact, establishing sustained orbits, or following natural ejection. The candidate will utilize Python to model these particles and perform orbit determination using the MONTE (NASA-JPL) software.

Moreover, the candidate will conduct parametric analyses to evaluate the sensitivity of the results to key parameters. This involves exploring variations in particle size and number, as well as different observation schedules.

Topic: Planetary Defence / Data Analysis
Tutor: Edoardo Gramigna
Uploaded: 07/03/2024

Optical images collected by deep-space probes are often used to estimate the relative position of the spacecraft with respect to their small body targets.

This thesis aims to perform a detailed literature review of currently available image processing and navigation techniques for missions to small bodies, with a specific focus on the LiciaCube mission to the binary asteroid system Didymos.

The candidate will develop a complete pipeline for the most common image processing techniques, leading to the extraction of the target’s center of brightness and limb profile from a given input picture.

The generated observables will be included within JPL’s orbit determination software MONTE and analyzed as part of the LiciaCube flyby reconstruction.

Topic: Deep Space Navigation / Data Analysis
Tutor: Riccardo Lasagni Manghi
Uploaded: 09/02/2024

Several icy moons of the giant planets are known or suspected to harbor subsurface water oceans: Enceladus and Europa, and, less firmly, Titan, Ganymede, Mimas, Dione and some Uranian moons. On the hypothesis that each such moon is a multi‐layer solid body where a water ocean is comprised between other layers of solid material ﴾rock, mud or ice﴿, it is possible to build a synthetic representation of the gravity field of the body. This involves summing the contribution of each interface, computing the gravity signal due to its topography and propagating the shape of the interfaces layer to layer, under hydrostatic equilibrium, isostatic and flexural support.

Rigid body dynamics applied layer‐by‐layer predicts that bodies moving on eccentric orbits will incur in physical librations, oscillations around their spin axis, with different amplitudes that follow specific coupling laws. The differential rotation state entails that a variable gravity field is generated, and its oscillation can be evaluated quantitatively and checked against typical observation sensitivity thresholds.

A pipeline performing this computation for Enceladus exists, partly developed. The candidate will carry it over to Python and run similar computations on a chosen set of suspected ocean moons, considering the specifics of each peculiar case. The outcome is an observability map associating each moon with a likelihood for the presence of an observable oscillating gravity signal.

Expected Outcomes:
• An updated literature review in the field.
• A Python implementation of the pipeline, applicable to any of the moons considered.
• A comparative study on the libration‐associated observability of the seafloor of each can‐
didate ocean moon.

Requirements:
• Solid English language skills and solid Python programming skills.
• Prior knowledge of rigid body dynamics.
• Vivid interest in gravity science and/or geophysics is appreciated.

Acquired skills:
• Python proficiency on a geophysical modeling pipeline.
• AI‐enhanced programming techniques awareness.
• Git‐based VCS ﴾local and cloud‐based﴿, and competence on literature reviews.

Topics: Ocean Worlds, Geodesy, Enceladus
Tutor: Giuliano Vinci
Uploaded: 22/09/2026