The study of the most powerful phenomena in the Universe

The key factor in the development of astrophysics in the last decades was the possibility to broaden the observable band to the entire electromagnetic spectrum, which was previously confined to visible radiation, and detect all the high energy particles coming from celestial objects. This became possible only when we were able to carry telescopes and detectors out of the absorbing screen of the atmosphere. High energy astrophysics, in X and gamma bands, is therefore a relatively young science, born with the conquer of space, and Italians can be regarded among the fathers of this branch of modern astronomy: Bruno Rossi in the United States and Giuseppe Occhialini, known as “Beppo”, in Europe were actually the first to develop observation techniques and experiment in this field.

‣ All the missions

CALET

CALET ‣

CALET is an observatory operating on the International Space Station, specialized in measuring cosmic electrons

IXPE

IXPE ‣

L’Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer is a mission under development, which is part of the NASA SMEX space programme, whose principal investigator is Dr. Martin Weisskopf from the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, United States.

INTEGRAL

INTEGRAL ‣

INTEGRAL is a European mission in partnership with Russia and United States, aimed at observing one of the most energetic radiations in the Universe from space

FERMI

FERMI ‣

FERMI is a large-area space telescope to detect gamma-rays

SWIFT

SWIFT ‣

SWIFT is MIDEX-NASA class mission, targeted at high-energy astrophysics and designed in cooperation with Italy and United Kingdom.

XMM-NEWTON

XMM-NEWTON ‣

The X-ray Multi-Mirror mission, renamed XMM-Newton in honour of the British physicist, is the most important European contribution to astronomy in the X-ray band.

AGILE

AGILE ‣

AGILE (Light Imager for Gamma-ray Astrophysics) is an Italian mission targeted at studying the high-energy Universe

AMS-02

AMS-02 ‣

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a particle detector operating as an International Space Station external module


GAPS

GAPS ‣

GAPS is an experiment carried out on a stratospheric balloon to study and research the antimatter component in cosmic rays

ATHENA

ATHENA ‣

ATHENA is the second ESA large-class mission, and it will be the large-scale, next-generation X-ray astrophysics observatory, with expected launch in 2030

EUSO-SPB2

EUSO-SPB2 ‣

EUSO-SPB2 è un esperimento condotto su pallone stratosferico per la misura di neutrini e raggi cosmici di altissime energie dallo spazio

BEPPOSAX

BEPPOSAX ‣

An Italian satellite, pioneer in the study of X sources

‣ News

WEDNESDAY 15 JANUARY 2025

The effect if the wildfire in California observed by PRISMA satellite ‣

PRISMA maps the Palisades area

MORE...

FRIDAY 20 DECEMBER 2024

COSMO-SkyMed carried out radar acquisitions to analyse tanker collision in the Black Sea ‣

On Sunday 15th December, bad weather conditions led to an accident involving two oil tankers, resulting in an oil spill in the Kerch Strait. MORE...

WEDNESDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2024

Memorandum of Understanding signed between ASI and the Commissioner General’s Office for Italy at Expo 2025 Osaka ‣

The protocol is intended to promote national excellence in technologies applied to the space and aerospace industries MORE...

TUESDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2024

Listening to cochlear sounds to estimate intracranial pressure changes on the ISS ‣

New results from the ASI experiment Acoustic Diagnostics MORE...

TUESDAY 29 OCTOBER 2024

JUICE’s RIME Radar Pings the Moon and Listens to Earth ‣

ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, Juice, launched the 14th April 2023, will make detailed observations of the giant gas planet and its three moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa – with a suite of the state-of-the-art instruments MORE...