In September 2022, Paris hosted the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), the world’s largest gathering of space professionals, researchers, and students. Among the thousands of participants was a delegation from DIANA, the student team of Politecnico di Torino working on autonomous navigation and control within the PoliTOmoon project. For DIANA, presenting a research paper on such a stage was more than an academic exercise—it was an entry into the global conversation on space exploration.
The paper presented by DIANA focused on guidance, navigation, and control strategies for autonomous systems operating in extraterrestrial environments. At the heart of their work is a simple but pressing question: how can spacecraft and rovers make reliable decisions when they are far from Earth, facing communication delays and unpredictable terrain? DIANA’s research tackled this challenge through a combination of modeling, simulation, and experimental validation.
Speaking at IAC was both a technical and symbolic milestone for the team. It validated months of research carried out in Turin and showed that their results could stand up to international scrutiny. For the students involved, the chance to exchange ideas with experts from agencies, industry, and academia was invaluable. The Congress offered feedback, inspiration, and a glimpse into how their work fits into the broader push toward sustainable exploration of the Moon and beyond.
The experience also strengthened DIANA’s ties to the global space community. Beyond the formal sessions, the team engaged with researchers working on similar problems, discovered potential collaborations, and brought home insights that will shape their future projects within PoliTOmoon.
For a young team, presenting at IAC 2022 was a step into the spotlight. It showed that the ambition and technical ability nurtured at Politecnico di Torino have a place in the international arena. Most importantly, it gave DIANA fresh momentum to continue developing systems that could one day guide humanity’s machines—and maybe even people—safely across the surface of another world.