Project “STOPP” - Tools and Techniques for Earth Observation in Proximity and Persistence - takes off in April 2021

The new project “STOPP - Strumenti e Tecniche di Osservazione della Terra in Prossimità e Persistenza” (Tools and Techniques for Earth Observation in Proximity and Persistence) will take-off in April 2021. In the next two years, the project members – which include Prof. Piero Gili from R3C – will design a High Altitude Airship (HAA) for the remote sensing of environmental pollution bioindicators. The proposed unmanned Lighter-Than-Air platform will be able to remain in geostationary hovering in the stratosphere (60,000 ft, i.e. ~18 km). This will allow to collect hyperspectral data over large urban and rural areas and use them to check land cover changes and potential biohazards.

The project, co-funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), will involve partners from six Italian universities and four government agencies – the ASI itself, the Italian Aerospace Research Centre (CIRA), the Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment of the National Research Council (CNR/IREA), and the Italian National Institute of Healt (Istituto Superiore di Sanità - ISS).