Two PhD positions open for research at EMM (Earth Moon Mars) research infrastructure

The Earth, the Moon and Mars constitute a trio of fundamental relevance for mankind. They can be considered the present and the future of human existence and Solar system exploration. In the PNRR-EMM project, a research infrastructure will be built based on the idea of using the Moon as a privileged site to observe the Earth and the Universe. At the same time, a Moon program can support activities that will prepare the human exploration of Mars. This new infrastructure lays the foundation for creating a multi-purpose laboratory on the lunar surface and paves the way to Moon and Mars human exploration.

The EMM compelling objectives are:

1. creation of a new research infrastructure for the deep space network
2. planning of a lunar infrastructure and its connection with the ground segments
3. design, prototype and test of instruments at a lower Technical Readiness Level, to improve their maturity in perspective of a slightly longer-term plan for further accommodation on the lunar surface
4. development of a multidisciplinary research network aimed at sharing tools, data and expertise for a joint study of the Earth and Mars.

The project is led by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) and carried out in cooperation with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and several Institutes on the Italian National Research Council (CNR). Among them, CNR-INO is leading two key activities:

• feasibility study and prototyping of a Lunar Earth Temperature Observatory (LETO)
• setup, integration, optimization and test of a self-consistent set of software tools, radiative transfer retrieval and climate models enabling to study the impact and to exploit new Earth Observation. Model optimizations in this area include searching for possible exploitation of new cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence techniques.

Two PhD positions are now open at the University of Florence, Department of Engineering Information, to carry out research activities in the frame of this project, specifically in the key area 2) mentioned above. The general PhD call can be accessed at: https://www.unifi.it/p12341.html while the studentships specific to the EMM project are described at  https://www.unifi.it/upload/sub/dottorati/39/14_ing_info_ita.pdf.

Application closing date is 9 June 2023, 12hrs (Central Europe DS Time).

For more info and to prepare the application, contact Marco Ridolfi (CNR-INO): marco.ridolfi@cnr.it