Agenzia Spaziale Italiana Research Articles

Mission analysis and guidance and control for the SpEye inspection CubeSat

The space community is moving forward with the development of in-orbit servicing and removal technologies to enable the circular economy in space and improve future space missions’ scientific and commercial return and space environment exploitation. The application of nanosatellites to carry out proximity operations presents an additional opportunity to support various novel and cost-effective distributed mission architectures. The SpEye CubeSat mission, funded by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana in the framework of the Alcor Program, aims at demonstrating inspection and rendezvous guidance navigation and control capabilities of a nanosatellite in close-proximity of the satellite carrier in a low Earth orbit environment. This paper focuses on the design of the SpEye mission and on the guidance and control strategies to enable its technological demonstrations. Particular attention is placed on the safety aspects of trajectory design, considered of paramount importance for the robust autonomous operations of a low-cost CubeSat in proximity to another satellite.

Handling the Background in IXPE Polarimetric Data

Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a Small Explorer mission by NASA and Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, launched on 2021 December 9, dedicated to investigating X-ray polarimetry allowing angular-, time-, and energy-resolved observations in the 2–8 keV energy band. IXPE is in the science observation phase since 2022 January; it is comprised of three identical telescopes with grazing-incidence mirrors, each one having in the focal plane a gas pixel detector. In this paper, we present a possible guideline to obtain an optimal background selection in polarimetric analysis, and a rejection strategy to remove instrumental background. This work is based on the analysis of IXPE observations, aiming to improve as much as possible the polarimetric sensitivity. In particular, the developed strategies have been applied as a case study to the IXPE observation of the 4U 0142+61 magnetar.

Wildfires Temperature Estimation by Complementary Use of Hyperspectral PRISMA and Thermal (ECOSTRESS & L8)

AbstractThis paper deals with detection and temperature analysis and of wildfires using PRISMA imagery. Precursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa (Hyperspectral Precursor of the Application Mission, PRISMA) is a new hyperspectral mission by ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Italian Space Agency) launched in 2019. This mission provides hyperspectral images with a spectral range of 400–2,500 nm and an average spectral resolution less than 12 nm and a spatial resolution of 30 m/pixel. This study focuses on the wildfire temperature estimation over the Bootleg Fire, US 2021. The analysis starts by considering the Hyperspectral Fire Detection Index (HFDI) which is used to analyze the informative content of the images, along with the analysis of some specific visible, near‐infrared and shortwave‐infrared bands. This first analysis is used as input to perform a temperature estimation of the areas with active wildfire. Surface temperature is retrieved using PRISMA radiance and a linear mixing model based on two background components (vegetation and burn scar) and two active fire components. PRISMA temperatures are compared with LST (Land Surface Temperature) products from NASA's ECOSTRESS and Landsat 8 which imaged the Bootleg Fire before and after PRISMA. A critical discussion of the results obtained with PRISMA is presented, followed by the advantages and limitation of the proposed approach.

Investigating temporal and spatial patterns in the stochastic component of ZTD time series over Europe

The EUREF Permanent GNSS Network (EPN) provides a unique atmospheric dataset over Europe in the form of Zenith Total Delay (ZTD) time series. These ZTD time series are estimated independently by different analysis centers, but a combined solution is also provided. Previous studies showed that changes in the processing strategy do not affect trends and seasonal amplitudes. However, its effect on the temporal and spatial variations of the stochastic component of ZTD time series has not yet been investigated. This study analyses the temporal and spatial correlations of the ZTD residuals obtained from four different datasets: one solution provided by ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana Centro di Geodesia Spaziale, Italy), two solutions provided by GOP (Geodetic Observatory Pecny, Czech Republic), and one combined solution resulting from the EPN’s second reprocessing campaign. We find that the ZTD residuals obtained from the three individual solutions can be modeled using a first-order autoregressive stochastic process, which is less significant and must be completed by an additional white noise process in the combined solution. Although the combination procedure changes the temporal correlation in the ZTD residuals, it neither affects its spatial correlation structure nor its time-variability, for which an annual modulation is observed for stations up to 1,000 km apart. The main spatial patterns in the ZTD residuals also remain identical. Finally, we compare two GOP solutions, one of which only differs in the modeling of non-tidal atmospheric loading at the observation level, and conclude that its modeling has a negligible effect on ZTD values.

Preparation of Human Muscle Precursor Cells for the MyoGravity Project’s Study of Cell Cultures in Experiment Units for Space Flight Purposes

Long-time exposure to the microgravity conditions experienced during space flights induces alterations in the homeostasis of organs and tissues, including skeletal muscles, which undergo atrophy with the loss of mass and strength due to decreased size and altered composition of myofibers. Microgravity conditions can also affect the functionality of satellite cells, i.e., the adult stem cells providing the muscle precursors that are responsible for the growth and maintenance of muscle mass in adult life, as well as for muscle regeneration following a damage. The MyoGravity project, funded by Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), aimed to send human muscle precursor cells (huMPCs) on board the International Space Station (ISS) in order to study the effects of real microgravity on the differentiation capacity of this cell type. To this end, it was necessary to use a methodology to cultivate huMPCs inside dedicated space bioreactor devices (Experiment Units, EUs) specifically designed to cultivate cell cultures and perform scientific protocols in the space environment of the ISS. Here, we report the setting of several cell culture parameters to convert the EUs into suitable devices for biomedical experiments using huMPCs for space flight purposes.

Effect of space flight on the behavior of human retinal pigment epithelial ARPE-19 cells and evaluation of coenzyme Q10 treatment.

Astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) are exposed to the damaging effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation. One of the most critical and sensitive districts of an organism is the eye, particularly the retina, and > 50% of astronauts develop a complex of alterations designated as spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome. However, the pathogenesis of this condition is not clearly understood. In the current study, we aimed to explore the cellular and molecular effects induced in the human retinal pigment ARPE-19 cell line by their transfer to and 3-day stay on board the ISS in the context of an experiment funded by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana. Treatment of cells on board the ISS with the well-known bioenergetic, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic coenzyme Q10 was also evaluated. In the ground control experiment, the cells were exposed to the same conditions as on the ISS, with the exception of microgravity and radiation. The transfer of ARPE-19 retinal cells to the ISS and their living on board for 3days did not affect cell viability or apoptosis but induced cytoskeleton remodeling consisting of vimentin redistribution from the cellular boundaries to the perinuclear area, underlining the collapse of the network of intermediate vimentin filaments under unloading conditions. The morphological changes endured by ARPE-19 cells grown on board the ISS were associated with changes in the transcriptomic profile related to the cellular response to the space environment and were consistent with cell dysfunction adaptations. In addition, the results obtained from ARPE-19 cells treated with coenzyme Q10 indicated its potential to increase cell resistance to damage.

ANALYSIS AND DETECTION OF WILDFIRES BY USING PRISMA HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGERY

Abstract. This paper deals with the analysis and detection of wildfires by using PRISMA imagery. Precursore IperSpettrale della Mis­sione Applicativa (Hyperspectral Precursor of the Application Mission, PRISMA) is a new hyperspectral mission by ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Italian Space Agency) launched in 2019. This mission provides hyperspectral images with a spectral range of 0.4–2.5 µm and an average spectral resolution less than 10 nm. In this work, we used the PRISMA hypercube acquired during the Australian bushfires of December 2019 in New South Wales. The analysis of the image is presented considering the unique amount of information contained in the continuous spectral signature of the hypercube. The Carbon dioxide Continuum-Interpolated Band Ratio (CO2 CIBR), Hyperspectral Fire Detection Index (HFDI), and Normalized Burn Index (NBR) will be used to analyze the informative content of the image, along with the analysis of some specific visible, near-infrared and shortwave-infrared bands. A multiclass classification is presented by using a I-dimensional convolutional neural network (CNN), and the results will be com­pared with the ones given by a support vector machine classifier reported in literature. Finally, some preliminary results related to wildfire temperature estimation are presented.

Exploring PRISMA Scene for Fire Detection: Case Study of 2019 Bushfires in Ben Halls Gap National Park, NSW, Australia

Precursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa (Hyperspectral Precursor of the Application Mission, PRISMA) is a new hyperspectral mission by the ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Italian Space Agency) mission launched in 2019 to measure the unique spectral features of diverse materials including vegetation and forest disturbances. In this study, we explored the potential use of this new sensor PRISMA for active wildfire characterization. We used the PRISMA hypercube acquired during the Australian bushfires of 2019 in New South Wales to test three detection techniques that take advantage of the unique spectral features of biomass burning in the spectral range measured by PRISMA. The three methods—the CO2-CIBR (continuum interpolated band ratio), HFDI (hyperspectral fire detection index) and AKBD (advanced K band difference)—were adapted to the PRISMA sensor’s characteristics and evaluated in terms of performance. Classification techniques based on machine learning algorithms (support vector machine, SVM) were used in combination with the visual interpretation of a panchromatic sharpened PRISMA image for validation. Preliminary analysis showed a good overall performance of the instrument in terms of radiance. We observed that the presence of the striping effect in the data can influence the performance of the indices. Both the CIBR and HFDI adapted for PRISMA were able to produce a detection rate spanning between 0.13561 and 0.81598 for CO2-CIBR and that between 0.36171 and 0.88431 depending on the chosen band combination. The potassium emission index turned out to be inadequate for locating flaming in our data, possibly due to multiple factors such as striping noise and the spectral resolution (12 nm) of the PRISMA band centered at the potassium emission.

ECG Holter analysis to detect induced deconditioning on cardiac activity in bedridden volunteers

Abstract Introduction Prolonged bed rest (BR) is an unnatural state, often related to hospitalization, chronic diseases and ageing, inducing reduced functional capacity in multiple body systems, possibly leading to cardiovascular deconditioning. We hypothesized that measuring this decline over time could represent the first step for the formulation of appropriate countermeasures or rehabilitation programs while in the hospital. Accordingly, our aim was to assess the effects of 10-day horizontal BR on cardiac electrical activity. Methods Ten healthy male volunteers (23±5 years) were enrolled in an hospital, after ethical approval and signed consent, to participate to a 10-day strict horizontal BR campaign, preceded and followed by 2 days in the facility, respectively as acclimatization and recovery. The 12-leads 24-hours Holter ECG (1000 Hz, H12+, Mortara Instrument Inc.) was acquired 1 day before BR (PRE), the 5th (BR5) and 10th day (BR10) of bedridden immobilization. From each recording, beat-to-beat RR and QTend interval series, as well as T wave amplitude (Tamp) and upslope (Tslope) were computed. Statistical analysis was applied to test changes induced by BR (ANOVA with Tukey test, p<0.05), separately for day (7:00–23:00) and night (23:00–7:00) periods. Results Daily RR and QTend duration increased during BR, with peak changes at BR5 compared to PRE (+13.3% and +3% respectively), and were still prolonged at BR10 (+12.6% and +2.6%). During the night, while RR increased (BR5:+5.3%; BR10:+1.3%), QTend was found progressively shortened (BR5: −1.6%; BR10: −2.9%). Also, day and night Tamp (BR10: −19.5%) and Tslope (BR10 day: −17.1%; night: −7.8%) were found progressively reduced with the duration of BR. Conclusion During BR, cardiac electrical activity is affected by 10-days bedridden immobilization. Noticeably, a mismatch in RR-QTend relation was visible at night, where vagal autonomic system activity is prevailing. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Other. Main funding source(s): Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI)

Leonardo spaceborne infrared payloads for Earth observation: SLSTRs for Copernicus Sentinel 3 and PRISMA hyperspectral camera for PRISMA satellite.

Leonardo has been involved in the realization of several infrared payloads for Earth observation since 1990. Among the currently in-orbit operative instruments are the two Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometers (SLSTRs) and PRISMA (PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa, meaning Hyperspectral Italian Pre-cursor of Operational mission). The SLSTRs are high-accuracy radiometers that provide sea surface temperature data continuity with respect to previous (A)ATSRs in order to serve climatology over the next 20 years, and exist within the framework of the European Space Agency Sentinel-3 mission, which is part of the Copernicus program. The PRISMA program is the first Agenzia Spaziale Italiana optical hyperspectral mission for Earth observation. It is based on a high spectral resolution spectrometer operating in the visible-short wave infrared channels optically integrated with a panchromatic camera.

Chemiluminescence Biosensor for Non-invasive Crew Health Monitoring at the International Space Station

Long-duration manned space missions require that astronauts be equipped with analytical devices suitable for performing on-site clinical-chemistry analysis. In the frame of the ???IN SITU Bioanalysis??? project, an analytical device for measuring the steroid hormone cortisol (an indicator of chronic stress) in saliva has been developed. The device performed a Lateral Flow Immunoassay (LFIA) for cortisol employing disposable plastic cartridges produced by FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) 3D printing technology, which encapsulated a sealed fluidic element containing the LFIA strip and the reagents required for the analysis. Detection was performed by chemiluminescence (CL) using a dedicated CL reader equipped with a cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Paolo Nespoli successfully used the ???IN SITU Bioanalysis??? analytical device during the mission ???VITA???, a 6-months space mission onboard the International Space Station (ISS) in the framework of a dated bilateral agreement between the Italian Space Agency (ASI???Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) and NASA. The experiments proved the feasibility of CL-LFIA ultrasensitive (i.e., at the sub-ng/mL level) quantitative bioassays in space. In perspective, the ???IN SITU Bioanalysis??? analytical device could be adapted to the measurement of other biomarkers of diagnostic and prognostic relevance, even in a multiplexed fashion (i.e., detection of multiple biomarkers in a single analysis) to develop panels tests for diagnosis and follow-up of pathologies or monitoring health status of astronauts.

ARAMIS: Augmented Reality Application for Maintenance, Inventory and Stowage

The crew time is one of the most important ISS’ resource. Time for maintenance, housekeeping and ordinary activities, including stowage tasks, has to be optimized, so to have more time for science and experimentation. The agencies and industries, involved in ISS operations, continuously study and apply new methodologies, processes and technologies to improve and effectively and efficiently perform these activities, minimizing the possibility of crew error, increasing their autonomy and reducing the execution times. In business contexts, the technology of augmented reality is spreading with increasing speed and flexibility, which allows to “enhance” human sensory perception by adding layers of information. The aim of ARAMIS, developed as an iOS application for the ISS iPad Air 2, is to demonstrate that AR technology can be adopted to reduce the crew time while improving efficiency, and in parallel that having all the information available on a single portable device can improve the overall operations efficiency. Currently, crew is using procedures, messages, logs, in paper copy or via laptops to support operations, continuously changing their point of view between the working area and the information sources, with a loss of focus and waste of time, and with limitation in the amount of information available in the same time. The paper describes the ARAMIS experience starting from the concept, the development and the operational phase splitted into two different scenarios (maintenance in Node 2 and stowage into PMM) that were performed by the Italian astronaut, Paolo Nespoli, during his VITA missions. ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) has granted access to the ISS utilization resources thanks to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NASA. For the VITA Mission, ASI availed itself of the industrial support services for the payload integration process, operations and logistics provided by Kayser Italia.

Operational Forecast and Daily Assessment of the Air Quality in Italy: A Copernicus-CAMS Downstream Service

In this paper, an operational forecasting and daily assessment system of air quality is presented. This new system is thought of as a Copernicus-CAMS downstream national service, able to develop and implement a service for air quality forecasting and monitoring in the Italian domain, running every day on the National territory. The system is being developed on behalf of a cooperation between Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) and Sistema Nazionale Protezione Ambiente (SNPA). SNPA is the network between Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA) and the Regional Environmental Agencies (ARPAs). The objective of the cooperation is to provide full operation service in terms of continuity, sustainability, and availability of the air quality forecast and evaluation services at the national level. The system forecasts and analyzes air quality throughout Italy, with a focus on Italian regions, for the principal pollutants: Particulate matter with diameter smaller than 10 μm (PM10), ozone (O3), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). It includes a Chemical Transport Model (CTM) nested with the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) global model and data from the air quality monitoring stations in Italy. The system, under public control and based on open software, is now under testing. To date, it is able to deliver free open data, which is available to environmental agencies and citizens. The data are delivered both as maps and graphs, and as numerical data, useful for providing boundary conditions to local–high resolution-air quality models or for developing customized services. In this work, a downscaling application to a regional nested domain highlights how the new air quality forecasting system gains better results than the Copernicus-CAMS system.

Solutions to Overcome Technical Constraints and Achieve Scientific Goals of the Multi-trop Experiment

Sustainable development in space is based on affordable initiatives. Reuse of hardware is a strategy increasingly adopted to reduce the experiment costs, but its success relies on adapting the biological systems to experiment units. MULTI-TROP won the Youth ISS Science (YiSS) call promoted by Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) in 2017 and was performed on the ISS during the VITA mission. Kayser Italia provided to ASI the industrial support services for the new payload integration process, operations and logistics. The experiment was aimed to study hydrotropism and chemotropism in roots of seeds germinating in microgravity. The experiment unit (EU) was selected within a set of previously flown EUs designed by Kayser Italia. Use of a hardware designed for a different experiment was a challenge and technical constraints got complicated by the interaction with environmental conditions and timing of pre-flight and in-flight operations. Several constraints had to be solved to achieve MULTI-TROP scientific goals. Biological tests allowed an accurate selection of the plant species on the basis of the hardware design and environmental conditions expected during the experiment. In addition, arrangements of the experimental setup were necessary. Overall, the experiment was successfully performed and the scientific goals were fully achieved.

In-orbit operations of AGILE mission: 11 years successfully in space

Astrorivelatore Gamma ad Immagini LEggero (AGILE) is a high-energy scientific space program funded by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI—Italian Space Agency); the mission was developed and is being operated in cooperation with INAF, INFN, CIFS and with the participation of several Italian companies. The satellite was launched from India on April 23rd, 2007 in an LEO equatorial orbit. The scientific payload includes: an imaging detector for hard X-rays (20–60 keV), an imaging gamma-ray detector (100 MeV–10 GeV), and a calorimeter (0.4–100 MeV). As of today, more than 57,700 orbits have been successfully completed with the satellite in operations more than 11 years (well beyond the 2-year nominal lifetime). This paper describes the operational activities performed at the ground segment level (satellite control and user segment) and discusses the high performance achieved during 11 years of successful in-flight operations. This result was obtained in the framework of a small mission and with a relatively small operation team. Important factors have been the implementation of an efficient automatic ground segment telemetry processing and a very fast scientific alert system. The service consists in the operational management of the satellite and of the ground segment in different phases of the mission both in nominal and contingency situations, carrying out the observations plan provided by ASI and the delivery of the scientific data to the ASI Space Science Data Center (SSDC, formerly ASDC). To achieve these objectives satisfying the mission safety requirements, specific operational procedures and strategies have been implemented together with ground segment automation and optimized use of onboard satellite capabilities. This work has been carried out under an ASI contract.

Correction to: On the Power-Law Distribution of Pitch-Angle Scattering Times in Solar Wind Turbulence

Correction to: Solar Phys (2019) 294:34 This article was published with an omission in the Acknowledgement text. Please find in this document the correct Acknowledgement text that should be regarded as the final version by the reader. Acknowledgement The work by S. Perri has been supported by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana under the contract ASI-INAF 2015-039-R.O “Missione M4 di ESA: Partecipazione Italiana alla fase di assessment della missione THOR”. The work by F. Pucci has been supported by Fonds Wetenshappelijk Onderzoek—Vlaanderen (FWO) through the postdoctoral fellowship 12X0319N.

3-D Imaging of Mars' Polar Ice Caps Using Orbital Radar Data.

Since its arrival in early 2006, various instruments aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have been collecting a variety of scientific and engineering data from orbit around Mars. Among these is the SHAllow RADar (SHARAD) instrument, supplied by Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) and designed for subsurface sounding in the 15-25 MHz frequency band. As of this writing, MRO has completed over 46,000 nearly polar orbits of Mars, 30% of which have included active SHARAD data collection. By 2009, a sufficient density of SHARAD coverage had been obtained over the polar regions to support 3-D processing and analysis of the data. Using tools and techniques commonly employed in terrestrial seismic data processing, we have processed subsets of the resulting collection of SHARAD observations covering the north and south polar regions as SHARAD 3-D volumes, imaging the interiors of the north and south polar ice caps known, respectively, as Planum Boreum and Planum Australe. After overcoming a series of challenges revealed during the 3-D processing and analysis, a completed Planum Boreum 3-D volume is currently being used for scientific research. Lessons learned in the northern work fed forward into our 3-D processing and analysis of the Planum Australe 3-D volume, currently under way. We discuss our experiences with these projects and present results and scientific insights stemming from these efforts.

XIV International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics (TAUP 2015)

PrefaceThe 14th edition of the International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics (TAUP 2015) was held 7–11 September 2015 in Torino, Italy. It was organized and sponsored by: University of Torino, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, Consorzio Interuniversitario di Fisica Spaziale (CIFS), and it was held under the auspices of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). The conference venue was the Congress Center of Unione Industriale di Torino.The meeting attracted 490 participants from 38 countries (327 participants came from outside the host country), the largest participation ever. The topics covered by the conference were Cosmology, Dark Matter, Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics, Gravitational Waves and High-Energy Astrophysics and Cosmic Rays, including the various interfaces between these areas. The scientific sessions consisted of five mornings of plenary talks, four afternoons with 6 parallel sessions each day, and an evening poster session. The program was complemented by a parallel session on Outreach and Education, two public events dedicated to general audience and a one-day course for physics students on science communication. Overall, 32 plenary talks, 284 parallel talks and 55 posters were presented.We wish to congratulate Prof. Takaaki Kajita and Prof. Arthur McDonald for the award of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2015 “for their key contributions to the experiments which demonstrated that neutrinos change identities. This metamorphosis requires that neutrinos have mass. The discovery has changed our understanding of the innermost workings of matter and can prove crucial to our view of the universe.” Prof. Kajita is member of the Steering Committee of the TAUP Conference Series and Prof. McDonald has been member of the International Advisory Committee of many TAUP Conferences, including the TAUP 2015 edition. It has been a pleasure to meet them in Torino and to have them chairing the Gravitational Wave and Neutrino Physics Session on the last day of the Conference.We thank all speakers, conveners and participants as well as the members of the Organizing, Steering and International Advisory Committees for making this a very successful and memorable meeting.Nicolao Fornengo, Marco Regis, Hannes-S. Zechlin (Proceedings Editors)

Hypergravity delocalizes thyrotropin receptor (650.3)

Thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) is a a heterodimer G protein‐coupled receptor constituted by an α extracellular subunit (53 kDa) interacting with thyrotropin (TSH) and a broad β transmembrane and intracellular subunit (30‐42 kDa) held together by disulphide bridges. TSHR are localized in the basolateral membrane rich in lipid rafts, microdomains with high level of cholesterol and sphingolipids, that provide a platform for the assembly of signaling complexes after TSH‐TSHR interaction. This interaction was perturbed in hypogravity during parabolic flights and longer missions in Space on board the ISS. In the present work the influence of complex mechanical effects of hypergravity on TSHR, cholesterol and sphingolipid in thyroid gland in vivo was investigated. Seven mice were maintained in hypergravity in a 2g centrifuge. Our results show that hypergravity up‐regulated 65% TSHR. TSH treatment did not cause significant changes in the thyroid gland of the control mice and induced about 50% reduction of the α subunit TSHR of 2g animal. TSH‐stimulated cAMP production was similar in control and 2g samples, indicating that even if TSHR is up‐regulated in hypergravity, the loss of its α subunit that binds TSH was responsible for the lack of the expected increased response to hormonal stimulation. Immunofluorescence analysis of TSHR demonstrated that in control samples the receptor was present on the surface of thyrocytes that surrounded follicles with a precise location, whereas in 2g samples the fluorescent signal was higher and spread over the entire surface of thyrocytes. The UFLC‐MS/MS study on lipid fraction of thyroid tissue showed that sphingomyelin and ceramide species remained unchanged whereas cholesterol was reduced 49% in 2g in comparison with control samples. We thus suggest that gravity, by inducing a significant loss of cholesterol, perturbed lipid rafts modifying TSH‐TSHR interaction.Grant Funding Source: Agenzia Spaziale Italiana

COSMO-SkyMed mission: risk management applications over China, Myanmar and Haiti conducted during 2008

Between 2007 and 2008, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) and Ministero della Difesa (Italian Ministry of Defence) launched three out of the four X-band SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellites of the Constellation of Small Satellites for Mediterranean Basin Observation (COSMO-SkyMed) dual-use (civilian and defence) mission, dedicated to Earth observation. The results received from the utilization of the two operative satellites of the constellation reveal the significant achievement of the X-band SAR sensor and the importance of a fast response time in risk management applications. This article presents the qualitative analyses and results related to a set of risk management applications of the year 2008 by ASI and e-GEOS pertaining to China, Myanmar and Haiti.