Hello
Luciano Iess
Board member
About Me
Luciano Iess is a full professor of aerospace systems at Sapienza University of Rome. He is Principal Investigator of the geodesy and radio science experiments of the ESA missions BepiColombo (to Mercury) and JUICE (to the Jupiter’s moons). He chaired the Gravity Discipline Group of the Cassini mission to Saturn and is a member of the science teams of the missions Juno to Jupiter and VERITAS to Venus, all led by NASA.
He has extensive experience in space navigation and solar system exploration, as well as strong and longstanding collaborations with the European space industry. For ESA, he developed the correlator of the DDOR (Delta-Differential One Way Ranging) system for high-precision measurement of the angular position of deep space probes - an essential tool for the Agency’s exploration program. He has also led or contributed to numerous ESA studies aimed at advancing deep space navigation systems, particularly through the use of Ka-band radio links.
He is the author of more than one hundred scientific publications, including six papers as first author in Science and Nature, and five additional contributions to the same journals. His most significant scientific achievements include one of the most precise experimental tests of Einstein’s theory of general relativity and the discovery of subsurface oceans on Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus.
He led the team that measured the gravity fields of Jupiter and Saturn, providing key insights into the internal structure and atmospheric circulation of the two gas giants, as well as constraints on the age of Saturn’s rings. He also led the team that proposed to ESA the architecture for orbit determination and clock synchronization of the Moonlight lunar navigation system.
From 1997 to 2018 he has served almost continuously on ESA’s advisory bodies (Solar System Working Group, Space Science Advisory Committee, Human Exploration and Science Advisory Committee). In 2019, he was appointed to the Voyage 2050 Senior Committee, tasked with defining the Agency’s scientific program for the period 2030–2050.
Luciano Iess has taught thousands of students in aerospace engineering courses and graduate programs. He has supervised 31 PhD theses and more than 100 master’s theses. He is actively engaged in public outreach and is strongly committed to promoting scientific and technological knowledge in society.
Main Recognitions
He has extensive experience in space navigation and solar system exploration, as well as strong and longstanding collaborations with the European space industry. For ESA, he developed the correlator of the DDOR (Delta-Differential One Way Ranging) system for high-precision measurement of the angular position of deep space probes - an essential tool for the Agency’s exploration program. He has also led or contributed to numerous ESA studies aimed at advancing deep space navigation systems, particularly through the use of Ka-band radio links.
He is the author of more than one hundred scientific publications, including six papers as first author in Science and Nature, and five additional contributions to the same journals. His most significant scientific achievements include one of the most precise experimental tests of Einstein’s theory of general relativity and the discovery of subsurface oceans on Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus.
He led the team that measured the gravity fields of Jupiter and Saturn, providing key insights into the internal structure and atmospheric circulation of the two gas giants, as well as constraints on the age of Saturn’s rings. He also led the team that proposed to ESA the architecture for orbit determination and clock synchronization of the Moonlight lunar navigation system.
From 1997 to 2018 he has served almost continuously on ESA’s advisory bodies (Solar System Working Group, Space Science Advisory Committee, Human Exploration and Science Advisory Committee). In 2019, he was appointed to the Voyage 2050 Senior Committee, tasked with defining the Agency’s scientific program for the period 2030–2050.
Luciano Iess has taught thousands of students in aerospace engineering courses and graduate programs. He has supervised 31 PhD theses and more than 100 master’s theses. He is actively engaged in public outreach and is strongly committed to promoting scientific and technological knowledge in society.
Main Recognitions
- NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal(2014, “For the exceptional service and scientific discoveries by means of the Cassini Radio Science Investigations and collaboration between NASA/JPL and the Italian Space Agency.”)
- Jean-Dominique Cassini Medalof the European Geosciences Union (EGU) (2017, “The medal has been established to honour scientists who have achieved exceptional international standing in planetary and space sciences in the spirit of Jean Dominique Cassini.”)
- NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal(2024, “For the exceptional scientific achievement in the investigation of Jupiter’s interior structure and differential rotation during Juno’s prime mission.”)