Ambient space plasma can induce electrostatic noise in a linear antenna onboard a spacecraft. The resulting quasi-thermal noise (QTN) intensity spectrum as a function of frequency depends on the plasma parameters. The phenomenon can be utilised for inferring the plasma parameters if one measures the induced noise by a sensitive radio receiver. This is called QTN spectroscopy and it has been demonstrated and validated in several space missions that the technique is able to uncover the correct plasma parameters.

The SIROCCO study was performed under ESA guidance by a consortium led by NOVELTIS and including four partners: ULB (Belgium), IASB-BIRA (Belgium), SRON (Netherlands) and IAPS (Italy). The goal of the study was to review in a multidisciplinary context (Earth Observation and Planetary Science) the status of existing retrieval algorithms and to extend their capabilities when applied to remote sensing data collected (or to be collected in the near future) by instruments in orbit around the planets Earth and Mars, with atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH4) as specific targets.

This study aimed at developing the numerical framework to investigate whether the remote generation of laser filaments from orbital altitude was theoretically feasible and in this case to gain insights on the required initial laser parameters to remotely generate a filament.

Gaps in existing radiation environment and effects standards adversely affect human spaceflight developments. The most important drivers in the domain of interplanetary and planetary radiation environments were investigated, identifying appropriate data sources and modelling methods to address the needs of future interplanetary manned mission design and operation.

The objective of the on hand study are, to assess the potential of using Star Trackers in ESA missions currently in operation, or planned in the future, to work as a "payload of opportunity" that can be used to carry out observations with scientific or engineering interest. In particular the activities looked to:

GNSSBICS is a feasibility study carried out in the frame of the ESA’s General Studies Programme (GSP)
by DEIMOS-Space, Deimos-Engenharia and ESA.
This activity investigated what G/S infrastructure would be necessary to develop a System, named as GNSS-BICS (GNSS Bias Calibration System), in charge of providing, under demand, the GNSS MEO S/C SISBAF (Signal-In-Space Biases Amongst Frequencies), from GNSS observations gathered by GNSS multi-frequency receivers on-board LEO satellites (potentially from different missions).

The COBRA (COntactless deBRis Action) concept was studied under ESA contract and then internally by ESA, as part of ESA ́s SysNova technology assessment scheme which uses “technology challenges” and competitions to survey a comparatively large number of alternative solutions. The concept was originally proposed by an industrial consortium led by GMV form Spain with Politecnico di Milano and Thales Alenia Space from Italy. The concept came first in response to a challenge for mission concepts and technologies capable of providing a contactless Earth-bound object orbit modification system.

The activity shall review current estimation techniques employed in space industry and make a analysis in the face of improvement, new demands and functionalities related to space applications in the view of high accuracy control demands ranging from science missions, exploration and vision based control to space transportation guidance navigation and control applications. The study shall execute the robust and high performance estimation and filtering techniques for accurate state reconstruction for hybrid integrated navigation purposes including vision based hybridisation.

Missions require more and more stringent stability performances, for which the performances of the reaction wheels become drivers.A recurrent issue is the wheel friction instability, resulting in fast variations of the wheel response, which adversely affects the pointing stability.This activity will:- examine the little understood effects of the lubrication system and environment on the stability and consistency of the delivered torque- characterise the impact of wheel instabilities on the pointing and stability- investigate solutions (at AOCS level, at wheel level, at system level, at HW o

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are already used in space missions (e.g. GOCE, Swarm, Sentinel, and MetOp, among others), not only as a navigation sensor (either for autonomous orbit and attitude determination or for relative navigation) but also as a science instrument (e.g. for altimetry, global geodesy, Radio Occultation and GNSS Reflectometry applications). However, its use is usually limited to orbits or mission phases below the orbits of GNSS satellites, since GNSS satellite antennas transmit mainly in the Earth's direction.