Projects
Our Recent and Active Projects
Involvement in Space Missions
ExoMars Radar Altimeter
A Doppler radar altimeter on the ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli Entry, descent, and landing Demonstrator Module (EDM) will be used to assess the altitude of the module above the surface of Mars and the speed with respect to the surface.
The test sites have been analysed by IRSPS/Ibn Battuta and the Ibn Battuta has provided the logistic support. The test was performed in the Ibn Battuta facility at Erfoud and in the nearby Ibn Battuta Desert Outpost.
ExoMars Landing Site Characterization
ExoMars Field Tests
IRSPS and Thales Alenia Space have just organised for European Space Agency – ESA a three days test of the interaction between the ExoMars lander and the surface in outdoor.
A mock up has been droped on geological unit with a fine grained lithology present in the landing ellipse. The test have been performed in the large quarry of the Company Laterlite at Lentella (CH, Italy).
Virtual Reality
Planetary Analogues
From 2016 to 2019 IRSPS has organised the Danakil Field Campaigns for Europlanet.
Two expedition with a small number of scientists and two expeditions with several users who applied for attending the campaigns has been organised.
The Danakil Depression is one of the lowest areas below sea level and is also the hottest point on Earth as far as the year-round average temperatures are considered. The Danakil depression (corresponding to the Afar Triangle) is one of the youngest portions of crust on Earth and represents the very beginning of an Ocean.
