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About

Riccardo Pozzobon is a leading figure in planetary geology and space exploration, whose work is shaping how humanity will explore the Moon and Mars. His research centers on the identification, characterization, and robotic exploration of extraterrestrial caves and lava tubes, as well as the development of astronaut training and support tools for planetary field science. Pozzobon is a key contributor to the European Space Agency’s ANALOG-1 experiment, a landmark series of missions that successfully demonstrated the feasibility of teleoperating a robotic rover from the International Space Station, laying the groundwork for future lunar exploration. He is also the driving force behind the DAEDALUS mission concept, a spherical robot designed for the autonomous descent and exploration of lunar lava tubes, a project that has garnered international attention. His development of the PANGAEA mineralogical database provides astronauts with a critical tool for real-time geological decision-making during surface missions. With over 30 citations for his most influential papers, Pozzobon’s work is not only advancing our understanding of planetary subsurface environments but also directly enabling the next generation of human and robotic exploration beyond Earth.