The study of the primordial Universe and gravitation laws

The arrival of the space era led to an impressive development of knowledge in the industry of cosmology, i.e. the study of the origin (and the destiny) of the Universe and the formation of the first structures. Born and developed in the optical band, including the use of the Hubble Space Telescope, this industry evolved towards the study of diffuse background radiation, in the microwave band, and large-scale structures evolving on cosmological times, for which observation is key in the infrared and millimetre ranges. Therefore, the observation of space has become critical to the development of knowledge in this industry. Thanks to space missions, the knowledge acquired in the last few years had a strong impact not only within the scientific community, but also on the public opinion, since they entail answers to the key questions on the origin and the end of the Universe.

‣ All the missions

EUCLID

EUCLID ‣

Euclid was the second Medium-class (M2) mission of the ESA Scientific Programme and aims at improving the knowledge on dark matter and dark energy

Gaia

Gaia ‣

Gaia is a mission of the ESA scientific programme, aimed at obtaining a three-dimensional map of our galaxy by showing its composition, formation and evolution


LISA

LISA ‣

LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) is the ESA’s future mission aimed at detecting gravitational waves from space, which involves manufacturing, launching and operating a constellation of three satellites which are millions of kilometers away from each other

LISA PATHFINDER

LISA PATHFINDER ‣

The LISA Pathfinder space mission is the technological forerunner of the gravitational waves space observatory planned by the ESA as the third large-scale mission of its Cosmic Vision scientific programme

PAMELA

PAMELA ‣

The PAMELA space mission is part of the RIM (Russian-Italian-Missions) programme and is an advanced observatory to study cosmic rays

HERSCHEL

HERSCHEL ‣

Herschel is an ESA 3.5 diameter telescope, operating in the far infrared and submillimetre range

PLANCK

PLANCK ‣

The Planck mission is the third Medium-Sized Mission (M3) of the ESA Horizon 2000 programme and aims at studying the cosmic microwave background

‣ News

WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2024

Ready, set, go! Euclid begins its dark Universe survey ‣

ASI - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana

Today, ESA’s space telescope Euclid begins its survey of the dark Universe. Over the next six years, Euclid will observe billions of galaxies across 10 billion years of cosmic history. Learn how the team prepared Euclid in the months after launch for this gigantic cosmic quest. 

MORE...

FRIDAY 09 FEBRUARY 2024

COSMO-SkyMed images to monitor volcanic activities in Hawaii ‣

An important outcome of the interferometric COSMO-SkyMed data processing MORE...

THURSDAY 25 JANUARY 2024

LIMADOU COLLABORATION HITS ANOTHER TARGET ‣

Italian-made HEPD-02 and EFD-02 detectors have reached China MORE...

FRIDAY 22 DECEMBER 2023

PRISMA and volcano observations ‣

The Ebeko volcano MORE...

FRIDAY 01 DECEMBER 2023

ASI – Italian Space Agency upgrades access to MapItaly data ‣

Downloading of COSMO-SkyMed constellation images has never been so easy MORE...