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RSLab is conducting a series of tests on the Marmolada glacier with a ground penetrating radar (GPR) mounted on an helicopter to study the feasibility to estimate the properties of ice as well as the possible presence of water in the subsurface.

The study is aimed to understand if these variables can be estimated in a reliable and automatic way by using advanced signal processing and machine learning techniques applied to the data acquired by a flexible low mass GPR that could fly on a drone. The final goal is to provide an additional tool to civil protection for monitoring the status of the ice after the tragic event occurred on the Marmolada glacier the past year.

The activities in progress have been been presented on the RAI TGR news. See here starting at minute 15:10.

Frequent fire outbreaks in the Mediterranean region are a cause for concern, especially in the context of human threats and climate change.
The Sentinel-2 constellation of the European Space Agency (ESA) offers a valuable tool in the form of multispectral images, with a revisit time of five days.

In the summer of 2023, fire expansion in three well-known hotspots – Rhodes, Corfu (Greece) and Palermo (Italy) – was monitored using a new method presented in an IEEE TGRS publication.
The three maps presented below provide a clear and convincing visual representation of the extent of the devastation caused by this summer’s fires.

 

Palermo fires up to July 31, 2023

 

Corfu fires up to July 30, 2023

 

Rhodes fires up to July 28, 2023

RSLab started some tests  with a low frequency radar for studying the subsurface of the ice on the Marmolada glacier. The goal is to sound the subsurface of the glacier to analyze its structure and to assess the possibility to identify the presence of water below the ice. The first flight was done on Friday, July 7th mounting the radar on an helicopter in cooperation with the Helicopter Team and the Civil Protection of the Autonomous Trento Province. Few sections of the glacier have been measured in the area affected by the massive breakups of ice that caused the tragedy of July 2022.

If the results of the study will be positive the idea is to use the considered low frequency radar (which has a very limited mass and could be mounted on board of an UAV/drone) for a systematic monitoring of the glacier for providing glaciologists with an additional measure to asses the status of the glacier in critical conditions.

More details in the selected media news below.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing and will change more and more in the future the scenario in the space activities and applications. The impact of AI covers almost all the components of space: robotics, autonomous systems, ground segment and operations, satellite maintenance and data analysis are only examples of the areas impacted from this technology that will make it possible to address many new challenges in deep space and planetary exploration as well as in Earth observation.

More details below in the video interview realized with Lorenzo Bruzzone by Italian Space Agency for AsiTV and Global Science.

After antenna deployment, the test of RIME in the Near Earth Commissioning Phase are continuing successfully. With the 16 meters antenna completely deployed the sensitivity increased by 1000 times (or 30 dB) with respect to sensitivity before the deployment. The detailed test on the receiving chain of RIME show that the instrument is behaving as expected reaching its nominal performance.


More details below in an ESA web story that addresses the status of the activities in the Near Earth Commissioning Phase.

After three weeks of intensive activities the full 16 meters RIME antenna has been succesfully deployed. Now that RIME has its “arms” ready to work in the next weeks the tests will continue for completing the commissioning of the instrument . Below few images (credit: ESA) of the two arms deployed.


More details at the media links below.

The activities for the first tests on RIME (Radar for Icy Moon Exploration) have started on Sunday April 16 in ESA ESOC (Darmstadt, Germany). The tests will continue up to the end of the Near Earth Commissioning Phase of JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer).

 

The cameras on board JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer) took the first pictures of the spacecraft in orbit. The Radar for Icy Moon Exploration (RIME) antenna is clerarly visible in the first “selfie.”

More details from the media news below.

JUICE was successfully launched aboard Ariane 5 from the European spaceport of Kourou (French Guiana) on April 14 after that the previous day’s launch attempt was postponed due to weather conditions. RSLab has the PI-ship of the Radar for Icy Moon Exploration (RIME) and appeared in the international, national and regional news.

Everything is ready in Kourou for the lauch of the JUICE misison scheduled for today. This is a very important event for RSLab that is coordinating the Radar for Icy Moon Exploration (RIME) that is onboard JUICE (Lorenzo Bruzzone is the Principal Investigator and Francesca Bovolo the Instrument Manager). See below some examples from the large media coverage.

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