Francesco Topputo is a Professor of Space Systems at the Polytechnic University of Milan (Polimi), Italy. He received his MSc (2003) and PhD (2007) in Aerospace Engineering from Polimi. His core research activities involve spacecraft flight dynamics and control, interplanetary CubeSat missions and system design, and autonomous guidance and navigation.

In 2019, he received the prestigious European Research Council’s Consolidator Grant (ERC CoG), and he has been PI in more than 20 research projects funded by the European Commission (EC), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

He is PI of LUMIO, an ESA/ASI-funded lunar CubeSat mission. He has been responsible for the mission analysis and GNC subsystem of Milani, a CubeSat launched aboard ESA’s Hera mission to asteroid Didymos.

He leads the Deep-space Astrodynamics Research and Technology laboratory (DART Lab) at Polimi, composed of over 40 full-time researchers. He has authored 130 peer-reviewed articles published in international journals, 8 book chapters, and over 250 conference papers.

He is Rector’s Delegate for international research networks and European innovation.