Programme

The Master's study plan covers the entire lifecycle of the fundamental elements of a space mission, from its conception to the exploitation of satellite data:

science => engineering=> data analysis => applications

The first phase of the Master’s programme consists of 288 hours of coursework and seminars provided in English. In the second phase, participants will gain real-world experience during a 600 hours internship with space agencies, research bodies, industries and private companies operating in the space sector and that are official partners of the SPICES Master’s programme.

1. Cosmology and Fundamental Astrophysics // Lauro Moscardini, Francesca Pozzi

2. High-energy Astrophysics and Astroparticle Physics // Marcella Brusa, Maurizio Spurio

3. Planetology and Astrobiology // Roberto Orosei, Barbara Cavalazzi

4. Fundamental Physics of the Solid Earth // Alberto Armigliato, Alessandra Borghi

5. Fundamental Physics of the Fluid Earth // Federico Porcù, Francesco Trotta

6. Space Missions - I // Paolo Tortora

7. Space Missions - II // Dario Modenini, Marco Zannoni

8. Space Telescopes and Radiation Detectors // Beatrice Fraboni, Carlotta Gruppioni

9. Space Data Transmission // Marco Chiani, Enrico Paolini

10. Human Flight and Space Medicine // Gabriele Mascetti, Matteo Cerri

11. Management of Space Missions // Luca Valenziano

12. Analysis of Astrophysical Data // Cristian Vignali, Michele Ennio Maria Moresco, Alessio Mucciarelli

13. Detectors for Astroparticles and Data Analysis // Alberto Oliva

14. Earth Observation Techniques and Data Analysis // Gabriele Bitelli, Emanuele Mandanici, Bianca Maria Dinelli

15. Applications of Geospatial Information // Elisabetta Carfagna

16. Satellite Monitoring of the Climate and Ocean Systems // Tiziano Maestri, Nadia Pinardi, Marco Zavatarelli

17. Image Processing and Data Analysis // Alessandro Bevilacqua

Start of classes: 09/01/2026
Expected schedule: Weekend format with classes on Fridays (full day) and Saturdays (half day), plus one Thursday per month (full day).

Classes will be held in a hybrid format (available both in-person and online), but the "in-person" option will only be activated if there are at least 5 students in the classroom. Attendance is mandatory for the first weekend of classes.

A final exam is required for each course that makes up the master's program. The exam may be either written (a short paper on a topic chosen from a range of subjects proposed by the instructor and based on the course syllabus) or oral (a 10-minute oral presentation on a topic selected from the syllabus).

Final assessment: A 15-minute PowerPoint presentation of the mandatory project or paper produced as a result of the internship/project work.