November 2020 – The virtual Hackathon concluded on Saturday, November 14th, featuring 10 Italian teams competing online, connected from across Italy and Europe. The two-day challenge began on Friday, November 13th, and concluded on Saturday, November 14th. The event took place online, as decided by the national organizers due to the COVID-19 emergency.

However, it was an opportunity to deploy a range of skills and capabilities that, with the support of satellite technology, led to a small success. This was not only for the ASI (Italian Space Agency), but also for Openet, a company that has been operating in the satellite technology sector for over twenty years, developing projects and services on a global scale in partnership with the ASI and the ESA (European Space Agency), and for I3P, with its experience in the field of high-tech, innovative startups.

The 10 teams were supported in their presentations during the Hackathon by three experts in economics, business and technology such as Prof. Frank Cinque General Director of E4Impacat Foundation, Prof. Andrea Mezzadri Business Economics teacher and engineer Guglielmo Faggioli Deep Learning Engineer presso AIKO.

They were then evaluated for innovative ideas in various fields of application, from space technologies, data, patents and infrastructure, by the Italian jury composed of:

• Dott. Anilkumar DAVE, head of the Innovation and Technology Transfer Unit of ASI;
• Ing. Tanya SCALIA, Aerospace engineer with a PhD in Aeronautics and Space Technology, within the Technology Transfer Unit of ASI;
• Ing. Roberto GROSSO, Aerospace engineer, manager and entrepreneur, Founder of Maxq Space Business;
• Dott. Vito GAUDIANO, Founder e CEO di Openet Technologies S.p.A;
• Ing. Lorenzo FERUGLIO, PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Founder and CEO of AikoSpace.

«The winner of the national competition is the POLIMI SPACE team», he said the jury explained, "for proposing an innovative idea that contributes to a new era of lunar exploration while maintaining a close focus on the economic model and end-user needs. The idea, called "MoonSweep," fits within the ISRU framework and could also have interesting implications for the sustainable use of resources on Earth."

The winning team of this edition of ActInSpace® 2020 “SPAZIO POLIMI / MOONSWEEP", composed of Enrico Mario Giovanardi, Marco Morgese, Giulio Pelenghi, Asuthosh Conda Ramesh e Davide Iafrate, developed the project by addressing the challenge posed in the "AIRBUS 03: The Moon Race Challenge." The winners explained: "Today, the market for terrestrial imaging and data processing is growing at an unprecedented rate. The highly complex network of terrestrial and space resources allows us to see our planet in ever greater detail. Now, let's imagine the year 2025, a new race to the moon is underway, and this time, private companies will play a key role in creating lunar infrastructure. In this new lunar economy, geographic, topological, and geological information will be crucial to addressing the harsh environment. Our goal is to collect, process, and provide this information clearly to our customers. This will foster a safer and more informed development of human activities on the moon. MoonSweep is primarily divided into a data processing/software part and a data collection part. The second part is highly scalable: from collecting data already available on the moon to having a fleet of satellites and rovers that constantly expands MoonSweep's capabilities."

The SPAZIO POLIMI / MOONSWEEP team will be able to access the international finals in Toulouse, France. The winners of the ActInSpace 2020 contest will receive many prizes, including the Grand Prix: and parabolic flight aboard a Zero-G Airbus A310.

The aim of the Hackathon is always to launch startups in these sectors, effectively becoming a unique opportunity for participants to work on the Creating business opportunities for the proposed challenges, using patents, technologies, and satellite data made available by CNES, ESA, Airbus, and all local partners. For Italy, the initiative saw the following deployed:Italian Space Agency (ASI) in collaboration with OPENET Technologies S.p.A. of Matera with SparkMe, l’Business Accelerator dedicated to the Space Economy, and the Incubator of the Polytechnic of Turin I3P. 3 special mentions were also awarded: "A special mention from the jury is awarded to the two teams SPACEBROS and THE SPACE BRIDGE, in particular for their potential impact on both business and society. The issue of training and early education for the newest generations will be increasingly felt in the future and in generational change, while the issue of health and access to space for the pharmaceutical industry poses new interesting prospects. Finally, an ASI mention was awarded to the SIMCOMPOSITE team that won the ASI02 challenge which, starting from a joint patent between ASI and the University of Rome Sapienza, was able to propose new uses and prospects for the commercialization of a technological process of clear spatial derivation".

ASI has made the following services available. Innovation coaching: meeting with agency experts on technology/innovation and intellectual property rights. Project presentation: unique opportunity to present the project to ASI experts to assess potential developments. Access to innovation stakeholders in the region and presentation to ESA Incubation Programme managers in Italy.

From Openet Technologies S.p.A. the possibility of using the Coworking spaces and services within the space was offered – free of charge for 30 days SparkMe, The technology accelerator dedicated to the Space Economy. Furthermore, in addition to the visibility of the business idea through Openet's various communication channels and assistance in developing the project, the winning team will have the opportunity to present their business idea to Openet network partners.

While I3P has ensured the winner of the "ActInSpace" Hackathon will receive international visibility for the project and the team on its main communication channels. Furthermore, the team will be given the unique opportunity to present their project to I3P experts to evaluate its potential development and the possibility of being included in the incubator's Pre-Incubation program.

Maxq Space Business offers the following services: 3 days of consulting on a business model, development plan, and fundraising with private investors.