01 / FORM FACTOR
Morphing spacecraft architecture
Reconfigurable 6U modules with foldable elements and docking interfaces, designed to transition between distributed and physically connected configurations.
FIS2 Starting Grant · CNR-IEIIT
ANTSat
Morphing from
sparse everywhere-coverage
to
dense high-capacity
:
a new generation of satellite systems that can autonomously
reconfigure their formation and their physical architecture
as mission needs evolve.
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The vision
ANTSat explores a new generation of adaptive satellite systems that can reshape themselves as mission needs evolve.
Individual modules can operate as a distributed network for wide-area coverage, then reconfigure their formation - and even physically assemble - to deliver higher communication capacity where and when it is needed.
36
project duration
€1.32M
funded grant
TRL 4
target maturity
∞
endless missions
Research
From spacecraft architecture to autonomous coalitions.
ANTSat connects hardware reconfigurability, distributed autonomy, communication-aware planning and experimental validation into one integrated research framework.
02 / AUTONOMY
Coalitional reconfiguration
Distributed decision-making for formation changes, coalition creation, rendezvous and docking under mission, resource and uncertainty constraints.
03 / COMMUNICATION
Coverage ↔ capacity on demand
A communications architecture that can trade geographic reach for high-capacity links by changing both the network topology and the spacecraft geometry.
04 / VALIDATION
Hardware-in-the-loop experimentation
A dedicated ANTSat Lab will bridge theory and hardware through robotic, real-time and embedded testing of the reconfiguration concept.
Project roadmap
Three years to turn a morphing-spacecraft idea into a validated research platform.
Kick-off & architecture
System definition, requirements, baseline architecture and laboratory setup.
Autonomy & design
Distributed reconfiguration algorithms, communication-aware planning and subsystem development.
Integration
Prototype integration, real-time implementation and progressive experimental campaigns.
Validation
End-to-end demonstrations, performance assessment and dissemination of the ANTSat concept.
People & funding
A research project funded by MUR and hosted at CNR-IEIIT.
Principal Investigator
Martina Mammarella
Martina Mammarella received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Torino in 2012 and 2015, respectively, and her Ph.D. (cum laude) in Aerospace Engineering in 2019. Currently, she is a researcher at the CNR-Istituto di Elettronica e di Ingegneria dell'Informazione e delle Telecomunicazioni (CNR-IEIIT), based at Politecnico di Torino, Italy. She has obtained the Italian National Scientific Qualification for Associate Professor in both Systems and Control Engineering and Aerospace Engineering. Dr. Mammarella’s research focuses on robust and stochastic model predictive control, system identification, and control of aerospace and autonomous systems, including spacecraft guidance, navigation, and control, and unmanned aerial vehicles. She has been involved in several Italian and European research projects and actively collaborates with international universities, research centers, and industry partners, contributing to projects on space systems, autonomous vehicles, and agricultural robotics. She is the author of numerous journal and conference publications in leading venues. Lately, Dr. Mammarella has been granted with a FIS2 Starting Grant (2025) to develop a morphing lunar communication network. She currently serves as Senior Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems and as Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, and is actively involved in several IEEE and IFAC technical committees.
Funding
FIS2 - Starting Grant
ANTSat is funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) under the FIS2 programme and hosted by CNR-IEIIT.
Project code: FIS-2023-00667
CUP: B53C25003400001
ANTSat
Space systems that change shape with the mission.
Follow ANTSat as the project develops a new paradigm for autonomous, reconfigurable space infrastructures — from sparse coverage to dense capacity, and back again.