Nano-SATellite Environmental Monitoring System

Principal Investigator: Frederic Monteverde
Personnel involved: Francesco Miccio, Mauro Mazzocchi
Starting date: 01/02/2024
Duration: 24 months
Full cost: 700.203 €
Total funding: 499.142 €
Action: POR-FESR Emilia Romagna 2021/2027 – ASSE 1 – Research and Innovation, Action 1.1.2
Project Coordinator: Dario Modenini (Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca Industriale Aerospaziale/Aerospace)
Consortium: Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca Industriale Aerospaziale/Aerospace (Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna); Istituto di Scienza, Tecnologia e Sostenibilità per lo Sviluppo dei Materiali Ceramici (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche); Servizi Integrati d’Area SER.IN.AR. – Forlì-Cesena Società Consortile per Azioni Ser.In.Ar; TEMAF Laboratorio Tecnologie dei Materiali Faenza (ENEA Agenzia Nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l’energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile)
Involved companies: NPC-SPACEMIND, STUDIOMAPP
Official website:

The initiative fits into the context of the Space Economy priority area of the regional S3 strategy and is outlined as a collaborative research project participated in by various organizations in the regional innovation ecosystem. The consortium popped up thanks to the actions promoted by the Clust-ER MECH for the development of strategic system initiatives, with reference to the promotion of services for people derived from the space economy, particularly for SMAL-SAT aimed at environmental and climate change monitoring.

SMAL-SAT project specifically aims to develop enabling technologies for a nano-satellite mission for environmental monitoring of the Emilia-Romagna region. It envisions the implementation of three technologies fundamental to its development: i) a remote monitoring instrument spectrometric to get environmental quality data; ii) a “green” propulsion system for the orbital control; iii) a high-efficiency deployment mechanism of photovoltaics panels.

The development of the above three technologies will generate technological demonstrators that will be tested for verification of performance requirements. The expected results at the end of the 24-month project will be the basis for the realization of an innovative regional environmental monitoring system from a space platform.