Today is International Asteroid Day, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2016 to raise public awareness of the hazard presented by potential asteroid impacts. The date was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of the Tunguska impact over Siberia, Russian Federation, on 30 June 1908.
To mark the date this year, we put the spotlight on some of our staff who work at the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre (NEOCC), part of ESA’s Planetary Defence Office within the Space Safety Programme – what they do, highlights of their work and how they ended up working in such a unique and important programme.
Discovering asteroids and calculating whether there is any risk that they will impact Earth – and when – is a very specialised task. Several experts from Starion work at ESA’s NEOCC in a range of roles as part of a worldwide effort to reveal this complicated but very necessary information.
In general, their work goes unnoticed, but occasionally it comes to the fore either when a tangible threat appears or through a scientific discovery or experiment. For example Marco Micheli, Astronomer / NEO Observer, was closely involved in the study of ‘Oumuamua, the first known object of interstellar origin to have entered the Solar System, while Dóra Föhring, another Astronomer / NEO Observer, coordinated the time-of-impact observations of the impact of the DART spacecraft on the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos in 2022.
Assessing the risk from asteroid 2024 YR4
Arguably their most famous activity to date, however, relates to their work on the asteroid 2024 YR4. First discovered in December 2024, at one point in its orbit was calculated to have a probability of over 3% of hitting Earth in 2032 – a probability that, thankfully, eventually shrank to zero.
Taking observations from the NEO Observers, and from other observatories all over the world, its orbit was determined and recalculated over and over, as Mathematician / NEO Dynamicist Laura Faggioli explains. “Using our specialised software, with each new set of observations received, we computed and updated the orbital determination and recalculated the impact probabilities, ensuring the risk assessment reflected the latest available data. Each calculation required thorough validation of the results and close coordination. In that context, I was responsible for coordinating the technical meetings between NEOCC, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and NEODyS to exchange results and ensure alignment between the three centres.
“The 2024 YR4 incident perfectly illustrates the nature of our daily work, combining technical expertise in orbital mechanics, meticulous validation, real-time risk assessment and international collaboration to support planetary defence activities.”
Roles and responsibilities
Ultimately, all of our Starion experts at NEOCC are contributing to an overarching goal, which is planetary defence, focusing on asteroids that have a non-zero probability of impacting the Earth in the future.
Our Astronomer / NEO Observers Marco Micheli and Dóra Föhring have slightly different roles. Marco coordinates the observations obtained from the various telescopes within the ESA Planetary Defence office network, reacting to the observational needs of the programme, while Dóra is responsible for the scientific commissioning of ESA’s Flyeye telescopes – Europe’s first telescope dedicated to surveying imminently impacting asteroids.
The roles are broad. For example, Dóra’s includes conducting site selection studies, evaluating and validating the scientific performance of the hardware and data processing pipeline, and contributing to the design of observation strategies and user interface software. With her deep interest in astronomical simulations, she also implements automated data processing pipelines and explores optimal survey strategies.
Laura Faggioli and Francesco Gianotto, on the other hand, are NEO Dynamicists, focussing on computing asteroid orbits and evaluating their potential risk of impact with Earth, a task that requires solid expertise in celestial mechanics.
Laura coordinates the risk assessment activities at NEOCC, focusing on the calculation of asteroid orbits and assessing the risk of potential impacts with Earth, while Francesco says: “In our small team of NEO Dynamicists, I’m the most ‘informatic’ member, often serving as the interface between us and the Data Systems/ICT teams”.
Other members of the Starion team at NEOCC are Maxime Devogele, Astronomer / NEO Observer, and Regina Rudawska, Operations Engineer.
How do the risk assessment calculations work?
Laura: These complex calculations are performed using dedicated software. With my previous company, I was directly involved in the early development of this software and I have overseen its evolution at the NEOCC from its first installation to its current status as an operational, state-of-the-art tool.
Today, our primary responsibility is to use this software to carry out both routine daily analyses and exceptional assessments required in special cases. The data produced by the software is published on our portal, so we are also responsible for the accuracy and timely updating of the information that users access through the portal. In parallel, the team is in charge of validating the software and requesting improvements or new features to support our operational needs.
There are only three centres in the world with these specialised capabilities: our centre at the NEOCC, the University of Pisa (where the predecessor of our software was originally developed) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Francesco: Our work is crucial for space safety. We monitor all known asteroids, including new discoveries, and are among the first people in the world who can issue alerts in case a dangerous asteroid is identified.
How did you end up working in this field?
Marco: I wanted to work on asteroids from when I was around 14 years old! My academic background started with a Physics degree and a Master’s in Physics, both in Pisa, Italy, and then a PhD in Astronomy in Hawaii.
Dóra: Like Marco, I have wanted to be a physicist and astronomer since childhood. I was inspired by science documentaries, science fiction and books on astronomy, as well as by the work of renowned physicists and astronomers such as Richard Feynman, Martin Rees and Stephen Hawking. I earned my Master’s degree in Physics and my PhD in Astronomy and Astronomical Instrumentation from Durham University, after which I spent five years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hawaii, where I used some of the world’s largest telescopes to observe asteroids.
Laura: My academic background includes a Master’s degree in Mathematics with a specialisation in Celestial Mechanics from University of Rome La Sapienza and a second Master’s degree in Space Science and Technology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. During the early years of my professional career I had the opportunity to attend specialised courses at the University of Pisa, taught by Professor Andrea Milani, the scientist who, together with Giovanni Valsecchi, fundamentally developed the modern techniques for impact monitoring.
Francesco: I studied Aerospace Engineering. After finishing my studies, I was determined to work in the space sector so I looked for all Italian companies collaborating with ESA. After a few months, I joined a company based in Pisa that develops Aegis (and still does today), then later changed roles to be with Starion and work directly within ESA.
Find out more
Read more about how asteroids are identified as a threat and asteroid 2024 YR4 in our post: How experts discover if an asteroid poses a threat to Earth.
