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

THURSDAY 07 DECEMBER 2023

Los Angeles from the PRISMA satellite   ‣

This composition is obtained from the processing of an acquisition of PRISMA satellite dated July 2020 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...

FRIDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2023

The Namib desert from space ‣

A picture by PRISMA MORE...

THURSDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2023

KENYA DELEGATION VISITS ITALY ‣

The official visit to Italy was promoted and organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Kenya in Italy on the occasion of the first meeting of the Joint Council of Ministers MORE...

WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2023

LUCA VINCENZO MARIA SALAMONE, ASI’S NEW DIRECTOR GENERAL,TAKES OFFICE ‣

The Board of Directors appointed the Agency's new Director General on Oct. 10 last MORE...