Achievable Science with SmallSats/CubeSats
Cinzia Zuffada
Jet Propulsion Laboratory - California Institute of Technology
Science Fellow, US embassy of Rome
Sala del Chiostro
Facoltà di Ingegneria Civile e Industriale
Sapienza Università di Roma
26 febbraio 2019 - ore 11.00
In the cost-constrained environment of NASA, the need for an acceptable compromise between science objectives and mission affordability is informing the decadal surveys. The rising credibility of SmallSats and CubeSats as science platforms has changed significantly in the last few years while access to space and the ability to deploy multiple spacecraft have inspired people to develop mission concepts that exploit the new capability. Interestingly, new scientific observations are possible, via constellations, formation flying, and sensor disaggregation. This talk discusses the value added to planetary science, heliophysics, earth science, and astrophysics measurements by single smallsats and constellations.
Dr. Cinzia Zuffada joined NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena in 1992 and has been the Associate Chief Scientist for the past twelve years. As such she is a key player in the strategic planning of science and technology research and development for JPL and in managing institutional internal R&D investments. Additionally, she oversees a number of programs supporting collaborations between JPL and the academic community.
For the past twenty years, she has led the pioneering Global Navigation Satellite Systems reflectometry technology development at JPL and has played a pivotal role in demonstrating the feasibility of the technique for ocean altimetry and land hydrology remote sensing.
Dr. Zuffada, ex-alumna of the Collegio Ghislieri, has a Doctorate of Engineering degree from the University of Pavia, Italy, where she was a Research Faculty in Electromagnetic Fields Theory before moving to the US. She received the Theresian Medal from the University of Pavia in 2002 and is a member of its academic senate. She is the recipient of the 2014 JPL Magellan Award and the 2015 NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. In 2016 she received the Knighthood of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
