
Solar system
Staff
Associate Professors: Monica Lazzarin
Assistant Professors: Fiorangela La Forgia, Stefano Casotto
PhD students
Andrea Farina, Alessandra Mura
External collaborators
Matteo Massironi (Geoscience Department-UniPD), Gabriele Umbriaco (UniBO), Gabriele Cremonese (INAF-Padova), Alessandra Migliorini (INAF-IAPS Rome), Elena Martellato (INAF-Padova)
Research activities
The primary research focus is the study of small bodies in the Solar System, both from Earth and space, with particular attention to their physical and mineralogical properties. This is part of a broader view of the origin and evolution of the Solar System itself. Earth-based studies use spectrophotometric data, mainly from ESO telescopes in Chile, the TNG in the Canary Islands, and Asiago. Space-based observations come from the Rosetta mission as well as past and ongoing missions like IUE, Spitzer, EPOXI, HST, Dawn, and the recent DART mission. Upcoming missions include HERA, RAMSES, and Comet Interceptor
Space Missions on Small Bodies
Rosetta (2004-2016)
The group participated as Co-I or Associate Scientist in the OSIRIS imaging system (almost entirely designed and built at the University of Padua through collaboration between CISAS, the Department of Astronomy, the Astronomical Observatory, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and DEI). Rosetta has provided the most comprehensive knowledge so far on the physical, chemical, and dynamic properties of comets. The OSIRIS camera captured around 80,000 images in the visible spectrum, which continue to be analyzed by this group to study the comet’s surface and gas emissions.
Contacts:Monica Lazzarin, Fiorangela La Forgia
DART (2021-2022)
The NASA mission, launched in October 2021, attempted for the first time to alter the orbit of an asteroid (Dimorphos, a moon of the binary system composed of the primary asteroid Didymos) using the kinetic impactor technique. The impact successfully occurred on 09/26/2022. The outcomes of the impact were determined through ground-based observations in an extensive international observational campaign, involving the largest telescopes worldwide (e.g., Keck, VLT, Subaru) from both hemispheres, in which we participated using the Asiago telescopes (1.20m and 1.80m).
We are members of the DART Investigation Team (https://dart.jhuapl.edu/Team/), which began investigating the Didymos-Dimorphos binary system before the impact, through ground-based observations with the world’s largest telescopes (Keck, Gemini, Subaru-Mauna Kea-Hawaii, VLT-ESO, TNG-Canary Islands), as well as using the Asiago telescopes, particularly for studying compositional properties.
The asteroid deflection exceeded expectations, shortening Dimorphos' orbital period around its primary, Didymos, by 33 minutes. This data was obtained with ground-based telescopes through photometric observations immediately after the impact and continued for months while the object remained visible. The data obtained from the LICIACube cubesat, from the Italian Space Agency (ASI) aboard DART, has so far provided important information about Dimorphos and is still under analysis.
Contacts:Monica Lazzarin, Fiorangela La Forgia
HERA (2024-2027)
Connected to the DART mission, the HERA mission of the European Space Agency was approved during the Ministerial Council in November 2019. Both missions are part of a broader NASA-ESA collaboration project called AIDA (Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment) for planetary defense against asteroids or comets, one of ESA's primary development areas.
HERA is scheduled to launch in October 2024 and will reach the Didymos-Dimorphos system in 2026 to study in detail the effects of the DART mission, specifically to accurately measure the variation in the orbital period, the mass of the objects, the characteristics of the crater created by the impact, the composition, and more.
In the HERA mission, we (Monica Lazzarin) are part of the mission’s managerial team, the Science Management Board, composed of the Principal Investigator, P. Michel (Nice Obs.), the Project Scientist, M. Kueppers (ESA), the Project Manager, I. Carnelli (ESA), and three other global experts on small Solar System objects: A. Fitzsimmons (Queen’s University Belfast), S. Ulamec (German Aerospace Center, DLR), and S. Green (Open University, UK) (https://www.heramission.space/team). The SMB oversees all aspects of the mission, both managerial and scientific, and manages the four Working Groups.
Additionally, in the HERA mission, we (Lazzarin, La Forgia) are:
- Members of Working Group 2 (shared with DART), dedicated to ground-based observations of the Didymos-Dimorphos system,
- Members of Working Group 4 - Subgroup Composition and Space Weathering, for the compositional study of the object and potential effects of space weathering on the surface,
- Members of the scientific team for the Hyperscout+ instrument (PI J. De Leon, Spain), dedicated to the spectroscopic investigation of Didymos-Dimorphos.
On April 6, 2022, we signed the first agreement with the Italian Space Agency for scientific activities related to the HERA mission, which are currently ongoing. The consortium includes nine entities, including universities and research institutes (Implementation Agreement No. 2022-8-HH.0 with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), for "Scientific Activities for the Hera Mission").
In October, the mission will be launched, and by March 2025, there will already be a flyby of Mars, during which Deimos, one of Mars’ two moons, will be observed. Therefore, the first data from Hera will soon be analyzed.
Contacts:Monica Lazzarin, Fiorangela La Forgia
RAMSES (2027-)
Approved by the ESA board, though not yet finalized (which will happen with the 2025 Ministerial Council), this mission will encounter the asteroid Apophis, which will come at the exceptional distance of 32,000 km from Earth on April 9, 2029. This mission, led by the Italian Space Agency, is almost a replica of the HERA mission. It will meet the asteroid a few months before its closest approach and then escort it for several months after the encounter, allowing, for the first time, the study of the effects of the tremendous tidal forces that Earth will exert on the asteroid. We are also members and associates of the Science Management Board for this mission (M. Lazzarin, F. La Forgia).
Contacts:Monica Lazzarin, Fiorangela La Forgia
Comet Interceptor (2029-)
A project of the European Space Agency with contributions from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). Selected by ESA in June 2019 to study a dynamically new comet, meaning one that is entering the Solar System for the first time from the Oort Cloud, or an interstellar object. Scheduled for launch in 2029, the probe will be positioned at the Lagrange point L2, waiting for the target comet to be identified from Earth. The encounter with the probe will occur at approximately 1 AU.
Since January 2023, we (Lazzarin, La Forgia) have been members of the "Near Nucleus Environment" and "Target Identification" Working Groups (there are 3 WGs in total, with 24 members), following a selection based on CVs by a committee of ESA experts.
We (M. Lazzarin) are the Italian leads of a long-term spectroscopic observational proposal for hyperbolic and new comets using the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, in support of the mission (5 proposals have already been approved and partially executed over 5 semesters starting in April 2020, resulting in visible and near-infrared spectra of approximately 40 hyperbolic comets, creating a unique database for these objects).
Contacts:Monica Lazzarin, Fiorangela La Forgia
Earth-based Observations of Comets
The group has extensive experience in the observation and analysis of comets, focusing particularly on spectroscopic observations in the visible and near-infrared, using the telescopes in Chile (NTT and VLT), the TNG in the Canary Islands, and the Asiago telescopes. Their work involves studying comet composition by analyzing the gases produced by the sublimation of ices. This is followed by determining the production rates of various gases, allowing comparisons between short-period, long-period, and new comets. This is a relatively recent study with much still to investigate, especially in preparation for the Comet Interceptor mission.
Another particularly interesting aspect is the tracking (observational) of comets from their discovery - often while they are still at great distances and thus seemingly not very active - through to their closest approach to the Sun, to study the variations in activity and the possible drivers of that activity (such as water, carbon monoxide, etc.).
Contacts: Monica Lazzarin, Fiorangela La Forgia
Ground-Based Observations of Asteroids
The group has extensive experience in the observation and analysis of asteroids, ranging from those that orbit near Earth to objects in the Main Belt, Jupiter's Trojans, Centaurs, and extending to objects in the Trans-Neptunian region, the Kuiper Belt. Specifically, we focus on spectroscopic observations in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths, utilizing the telescopes in Chile (NTT and VLT), the TNG in the Canary Islands, and the Asiago telescopes. Our work involves investigating the surface composition of these asteroids and conducting a series of analyses and comparisons using spectral slopes and potential absorption bands of certain materials.
For many years, we have particularly concentrated on studying Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) due to their still poorly understood origins and because they are targets of numerous past, ongoing, and future space missions. Additionally, they represent a potential threat to Earth, making it essential to discover, study their properties, and monitor them. In this context, we have participated in projects funded by the European Community (Neoshield2 and NEOROCKS) for the study of NEOs, and another similar project is currently awaiting approval by the European Space Agency (NEOPOPS).
Contacts: Monica Lazzarin, Fiorangela La Forgia