Other Contributors

TEAM LEADER: 

Valentina Sumini

TEAM MEMBERS: 

Mustafa Erkus, Marta Rossi, Giacomo Luccisano, Franco Malerba, Patrizia Bagnerini, Vivek Jadhav, Bianca Simonassi, Dario Pezzella, Mauro Gaggero, Stefano Polato, Joseph Paradiso, and Paolo Maggiore. 

Valentina Sumini is the team leader. She is a Visiting Professor at Politecnico di Torino in the Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, and a Space Architect and Engineer Research Affiliate at MIT Media Lab within the Space Exploration Initiative and Responsive Environments. 

Mustafa Erkus is a master’s student at Politecnico di Milano in Italy. He is graduating in Architecture and working on his thesis focused on space architecture.

Marta Rossi is a PhD student at Politecnico di Torino in Italy. She is pursuing her doctorate in “Architecture. History and Project,” focusing on how space habitat design processes unfold.

Together, Valentina, Mustafa, and Marta constitute the design team, focusing on developing the architectural aspects of the greenhouse project.

Giacomo Luccisano is a PhD student in Aerospace Engineering at Politecnico di Torino in Italy. In this project, he is the specialist responsible for developing the Python-based model using the BioSim library, drawing on his extensive Python coding experience.

Franco Malerba is a former astronaut and the first Italian to go to space. He is currently the founder and the reference figure of Space V, an Italian startup founded in 2021 that focuses on the study and design of cutting-edge equipment for plant cultivation in space.

Patrizia Bagnerini is one of Space V’s founding partners and Associate Professor of Numerical Analysis at the Polytechnic School of the University of Genoa.

Vivek Jadhav, Ph.D. in Vegetable Science (Controlled Environment Agriculture and Vertical Farming), is currently working as an Agronomist at Space V.

Bianca Simonassi is an aerospace engineer who graduated from Politecnico di Torino and is currently a systems engineer at Space V.

Dario Pezzella graduated in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Torino and is currently collaborating with Space V as a Research fellow from Politecnico di Torino.

Mauro Gaggero is a senior researcher at CNR and is currently collaborating with Space V.

Together, Franco, Patrizia, Vivek, Bianca, Dario, and Mauro focus on the agronomic aspects of the projects, including crop cultivation, growth, and the greenhouse's technological requirements.

Stefano Polato is a chef and nutritional and nutraceutical consultant. He is the inventor of the Vertical Kitchen method and has worked on food preparation for several space missions. In this project, he is responsible for designing the recipes for a two-week balanced meal plan.

Paolo Maggiore is a Full Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (DIMEAS) of Politecnico di Torino. His research focuses on aerospace systems, with particular expertise in digital twins, system diagnostics and prognostics, and embedded sensing technologies for aeronautical and space applications. 

Joseph Paradiso is a Full Professor at the MIT Media Lab, where he directs the Responsive Environments group and serves as the Media Lab’s Academic Head.