Space It UP - Spoke 4

SPACE IT UP is a program aimed at enhancing Italian space technology for the exploration and utilization of space, ultimately benefiting planet Earth and all of humanity. A broad project partnership will foster synergies between academia, industry, and research centers, generating a strong impact on the Italian space sector while pursuing four key objectives:

• Promoting innovation and expanding fundamental knowledge;
• Supporting a sustainable future;
• Ensuring long-term human presence in extraterrestrial space;
• Ensuring long-term human presence in extraterrestrial space.

In particular, Spoke 6 focuses on expanding our knowledge of the Sun-Earth interaction to address Space Weather (SWE) phenomena. The goal is to improve the understanding of the underlying physical processes, assess the effects on ground- and space-based infrastructures, and enhance the ability to monitor and forecast these phenomena in a timely manner.

The activities will focus on:

1- Expanding and improving theoretical models of the heliospheric environment and its dynamics, complemented by analyses and model validation using archived data;
2- Studying innovative space architectures and developing payload breadboards for SWE monitoring missions;
3- Developing software tools for SWE forecasting and integrating them into a network capable of responding quickly and efficiently to SWE events, both for terrestrial and space-based infrastructures.