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Aviation and Climate: an assessment of transition scenarios for sustainable aviation compatible with the Paris Agreement

Publication Date

06 October 2023

Category

Research

Tag

Aeronautics

DCAS

Decarbonization

Sustainability

The researchers have just completed their study, providing a comprehensive review of updated elements based on an analysis of more than 350 scientific publications in the scientific journal Progress in Aerospace Sciences. “The aim is to provide the key elements needed to assess whether a transition scenario envisaged for aviation could be considered sustainable in the context of the Paris Climate Agreement, which came into force in 2016,” explains Nicolas Gourdain.

Maturity and effectiveness of solutions

The main contribution of their recent work is the detailed identification of technological levers for reducing CO2 emissions and mitigating non-CO2 related effects. In particular, it highlights the degree of maturity of solutions and promising areas such as mitigating the effect of condensation trails. Future aircraft architectures and the associated fleet renewal, as well as the energy sources envisaged, are studied from the priority angle of measuring the effectiveness of solutions.

At the same time, prospective scenarios for the transition of aviation are studied. A comparison of the methodologies proposed by different academic sources is carried out by the researchers with regard to modelling and the assessment of environmental sustainability. Some applications are illustrated using the AeroMAPS tool developed at ISAE-SUPAERO, which the researcher Thomas Planès describes as “a tool for modelling transition scenarios taking into account the components of air transport, the associated impacts and the many interactions”.

Their analysis highlights the uncertainties surrounding the feasibility of these trajectories, particularly those of the most ambitious scenarios, which are based on strong assumptions about technological and political compromises. “Our work also provides food for thought on the concept of sustainability in aviation, and has led us to consider the need for a multidisciplinary approach in future forward-looking models,” explains Florian Simatos.

This work is one of ISAE-SUPAERO’s contributions to the Institute for Sustainable Aviation (ISA). The ISA aims to become a scientific research tool capable of combining climate projections for the aviation sector with a wide range of disciplines, including economics, law, regulation and sociology.

In a special issue dedicated to sustainable aviation, the scientific journal Progress in Aerospace Sciences, a benchmark in the field of aeronautics, has published a scientific article on the “Aviation and Climate” report in its enhanced version.

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Diversity program

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Thales and ISAE-SUPAERO strengthen ties to work towards a more sustainable air transport system

The French high-tech group supports the Institute through a research chair. The prize: a thesis on an integrated approach to air transport and eleven scholarships of excellence to support high-achieving European students.

Aeronautics

Decarbonization

Partnership

Pages

Design and Architecture of Cognitive Air Systems Research Chair - Dassault Aviation

The CASAC Chair, supported by the Neuroergonomics Centre at ISAE-SUPAERO, is backed by Dassault Aviation, which is affirming its commitment to the mastery of complex systems.

Aeronautics

Chair

News

ISAE-SUPAERO ranked among the top three institutions most committed to ecological and societal transition!

Ranking

Sustainability

Events

AASTRA Certificate: presentation webinar on March 25 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Air transport

Events

16th EASN International Conference

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Event

Events

Decarbonization of the aviation sector training

ISAE-SUPAERO and GIFAS open new training sessions dedicated to decarbonizing the aviation sector.

Aeronautics

Aviation

Decarbonization

News

ISAE-SUPAERO's researchers are working on establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon.

While last year marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 17 mission, the last manned trip to the Moon, the development of ‘New Space’ has revived the space sector's interest in lunar exploration.

DCAS

Space

News

COP2 Student: ISAE-SUPAERO affirms its commitment to ecological transition by signing the Grenoble Agreement

Sustainability

News

AeroMAPS: the go-to tool for exploring the possible futures of aviation

The AeroMAPS tool, developed by researchers at ISAE-SUPAERO, makes it possible to assess the environmental impacts of air transport and the effectiveness or limitations of levers for decarbonising the sector.

Aeronautics

DCAS

Decarbonization

Pages

Semester Research Projects

Take your studies to the next level by participating in a semester-long research project at ISAE-SUPAERO: immerse yourself in cutting-edge laboratories alongside international experts and contribute to advances in aeronautics and space technology.

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Aerospace summer program

News

The SOLAR BOOST project helps address the problem of urban transport

Decarbonization

Sustainability

News

Clean Aviation – The European CONCERTO project

Environmental issues are central to the strategy of ISAE-SUPAERO's Department of Research and Pedagogical Resources. This commitment is reflected in its participation in CONCERTO (Construction Of Novel CERTification MethOds and Means of Compliance for Disruptive Technologies), one of the European research projects on decarbonisation in aviation.

Decarbonization

Sustainability

News

ISAE-SUPAERO acquires an innovative new additive manufacturing equipment

ISAE-SUPAERO and the Institut Clément Ader (ICA) have just acquired a new Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) machine. This cutting-edge equipment opens up new prospects for research, teaching and innovation in the aeronautical field.

Aeronautics

News

Research

News

Decarbonised aviation: first successful flight test for the hydrogen-powered Mermoz drone

In January, the first ‘Drone Mermoz’ demonstrator carrying hydrogen gas, developed by ISAE-SUPAERO in partnership with H3 DYNAMICS, successfully completed its first radio-controlled flight on the runway of the Muret model aircraft club in the Toulouse region (31).

Decarbonization

Sustainability

News

ISAE-SUPAERO launches “Horizons”, its new Sustainable Development strategy

ISAE Group

Sustainability

Pages

Meeting Environmental Challenges

Crossing the Atlantic in an aeroplane or sending a human being to the Moon: for a century, aerospace research has never ceased to achieve what many thought impossible. At ISAE-SUPAERO, we are mobilising to meet this challenge and respond to the environmental and societal issues we face. 35% of internal and collaborative research projects are directly aimed at decarbonisation or are linked to the transition to sustainable aerospace.

Horizons

Sustainability

Pages

Exploring, Sharing, Transforming

Creating open discussion forums to facilitate exchanges on the challenges of transition in the aerospace sector, contributing to innovation, sharing our expertise and making it accessible, crossing viewpoints, promoting inclusion and openness around these subjects: we are acting collectively for transition on an international scale.

Horizons

Sustainability

Events

2026 edition of "Les Entretiens de Toulouse"

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Event

News

The Institute is involved in the ecological transition of the aerospace ecosystem

Aerospace

Meeting

Sustainability

News

Corentin Lefloch, an engineering student, wins first prize at the USAIRE STUDENT AWARDS for his ideas on the future of aviation

Prize

Sustainability

News

"Futurs Proches" Festival in October 9: tickets are now available!

ISAE-SUPAERO's CSR department, in partnership with the Toulouse Community of Universities and Establishments (COMUE), invites you to join us on Thursday, October 9 for the 2ᵉ edition of the Festival Futurs Proches, Festival des Campus en transitions!

Corporate responsibility

Decarbonization

Event

Testimonials

Testimony from Nathanaël Lecompte, 2021 alumni of the ISAE-SUPAERO engineering programme

Alumni

Sustainability

Testimonial

Testimonials

Testimony from Valentin Balayn, 2015 graduate of the TAS AERO FTE Advanced Master®

Advanced Master

Aeronautics

Alumni

Events

ISAE-SUPAERO will be at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget from June 16 to 22, 2025

ISAE-SUPAERO will be present at the 55ᵉ Salon International de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace at Le Bourget from June 16 to 22, 2025!

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Event

News

Focus on subsonic wind tunnels, aerodynamics in practice

The subsonic wind tunnels at ISAE-SUPAERO are used to study airflow over objects such as aircraft wing profiles. This equipment, supervised by a technical team, is used by both students and researchers in the Aerodynamics, Energy and Propulsion Department (DAEP).

Aeronautics

DAEP

Pages

Support for the Development of the ISAE Group - GIFAS

GIFAS (Groupement des Industries Françaises Aéronautiques et Spatiales - French Aerospace Industries Group) supports the development of high-level academic and professional education in aerospace systems at the 6 Grandes Écoles that make up the ISAE Group (ISAE-ENSMA, ISAE-SUPMECA, ESTACA, Ecole de l'Air et de l'Espace, ENAC, ISAE-SUPAERO).

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Chair

Videos

AeroMAPS: an ISAE-SUPAERO reference tool for exploring the possible futures of aviation

The AeroMAPS tool, developed by two ISAE-SUPAERO researchers, Scott Delbecq and Thomas Planès, can be used to assess the environmental impacts of air transport and the effectiveness or limitations of levers to decarbonize the sector! Initially designed for research and training purposes, the tool is now a multidisciplinary, open-source platform, accessible to experts as well as institutional, industrial and associative decision-makers. Its development has been integrated into the work of the Institute for Sustainable Aviation (ISA), an interdisciplinary research institute headed by Laurent Joly, whose aim is to address the issue of #aviation's ecological transition in all its complexity. By playing on the sector's transition levers, AeroMAPS users can define the scenarios whose impacts they wish to analyze. For example, the introduction of new aircraft types, the use of new fuels or the rate of growth in air traffic. AeroMAPS is the first air transport scenario exploration platform built on an open-source scientific methodology. It was initially designed and developed to enable researchers to explore air transport transition scenarios in detail. It was then rapidly integrated into training programs: first in the ISAE-SUPAERO engineering curriculum, then in continuing education programs. To facilitate use of the tool, a partnership was formed with Sopra Steria. This major tech player built the platform's new web interface to enhance the user experience and make it accessible to decision-makers. Research work recently took on a socio-economic dimension with a PhD prepared by Antoine Salgas, in partnership with TBS Education. Antoine Salgas has also created a traffic and emissions inventory in collaboration with the Dutch Delft University of Technology. These two aspects of his thesis gave rise to an AeroMAPS “satellite” tool, called AeroSCOPE, which enables analyses to be partitioned and regionalized. Today, the comprehensive, multi-disciplinary aspect of AeroMAPS is a decision-making aid for the entire #aeronautics ecosystem. Through its scientific expertise, ISAE-SUPAERO contributes to the debate and to the future of aviation.

DCAS

Decarbonization

Sustainability

Videos

The future of aeronautics is being written today by its engineers!

At the controls of an electric aircraft, the President of ISAE-SUPAERO speaks to us and embodies a new era of pioneers: that of more sustainable, more responsible aviation. This symbolic flight marks the Institute's commitment to the ecological transition of the aviation sector and illustrates the conviction that decarbonization is not only a technological challenge, but also a human and collective adventure. ISAE-SUPAERO, alongside its academic and industrial partners, trains the engineers who will invent the aviation of the future—silent, efficient, and environmentally friendly. ✈️ Discover this exciting moment and join us in transforming the skies.

Aeronautics

Aviation

Decarbonization

News

The 2025 Edmond Brun Prize from the French Academy of Sciences awarded to Annafederica Urbano, professor at ISAE-SUPAERO

On October 28, 2025, the Academy of Sciences awarded the Edmond Brun Prize to Annafederica Urbano, professor of space launch vehicles at ISAE-SUPAERO. This biennial physics award recognizes her entire body of work in the field of space propulsion.

DCAS

News

Prize

News

Horizon Europe Pathfinder, the European IPROP project

Environmental issues are central to the strategy of ISAE-SUPAERO's Department of Research and Pedagogical Resources. This commitment is reflected in its participation in IPROP, Ionic Propulsion in Atmosphere, one of the European research projects on decarbonisation in aviation.

Decarbonization

Sustainability

Videos

ISAE-SUPAERO publishes its Aviation and Climate Reference Framework

The ISAE-SUPAERO #Aviation and #Climate reference framework aims to provide #scientific information useful for understanding the challenges facing aviation and the climate. This work has undergone a specific review process involving both ISAE-SUPAERO staff and external researchers from various institutes.

Decarbonization

Researcher

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Living a Low-carbon Campus

One of the main thrusts of our ‘Horizons’ strategy is based on our actions to promote our campus. A sustainable campus that exemplifies our commitment to setting an example. This means implementing a low-carbon strategy aimed at reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, adapting our campus to future environmental impacts and reducing other environmental impacts (notably biodiversity and resources).

Horizons

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Content Related To'Research'

Ion propulsion, the genesis of emerging research

Publication Date

19 September 2023

Category

Research

Tag

DAEP

A matter of encounters

Can scientific curiosity, human encounters and chance be decisive factors in exploring a line of research hitherto neglected by the scientific community?

The work currently being carried out by Nicolas Binder in the Aerodynamics and Propulsion Department (DAEP) seems to support this hypothesis.

A specialist in fluid dynamics and aeronautical propulsion, the researcher first became interested out of scientific curiosity following the research work of a student engineer, Nicolas Monrolin (E2015).

“We weren’t working on the incremental aspects of a conventional engine, we were beyond that, and I was curious to see what would happen next”, Nicolas tells us. Then he kept in touch, because they got on well together and because their research work focused on breakthrough propulsion systems.

Then, in 2018, the researcher attended the brilliant thesis defence of his former student, now at the IMFT. A week after his thesis supervisor, Franck Plouraboué called ISAE-SUPAERO looking for a high-speed wind tunnel. After a number of unsuccessful attempts, he finally came across Nicolas Binder, the person in the lab interested in this disruptive work.

This thesis was the starting point for the creation of a real multi-physics electro-hydro-dynamics unit at DAEP. For me, at first it was a matter of scientific curiosity, then we started to work together, setting up projects in twos and then in threes with the Institut P' in Poitiers. We finally joined the European IPROP consortium on ionic propulsion with the École Polytechnique, the Van Kármán Institute in Belgium, the University of Milan, which was leading the project, and other Italian universities, to develop a complete line of research, and that's when things started to take off.

Nicolas Binder

The Institute as a benchmark in conventional propulsion

Expertise in conventional propulsion is one of the strengths of the Turbomachinery and Propulsion research group at DAEP. This expertise provides a reference base for assessing the performance of experiments.

The principle of ionic propulsion is to create a plasma around two electrodes of different sizes, between which a high voltage is applied. Ions escape from this plasma and are accelerated by the intense electric field towards the second electrode. These ions undergo a large number of collisions with the neutral air molecules, which slow them down, creating an ion cloud between the two electrodes. This electrically charged zone is the source of the thrust force applied to the electrodes. The aim of this research is to understand all the parameters that currently make this process ineffective. For the moment, this device generates a drag greater than the thrust it induces at modest flight speeds. There is a lot of work to be done on this subject to increase thrust density at low speeds, and above all to see if it develops favourably at high speeds, as the equations seem to show.

There is a chance that the thrust process is activated by the presence of the external flow at high speed, but we still need time to develop the measuring instrument, because this is truly exploratory research. Trying to measure this thrust at high speed has never been done before, and this test bench here at ISAE-SUPAERO is unique.

Nicolas Binder

IPROP, a European project to take things further

The IPROP project is part of the Horizon Europe Pathfinder framework, and aims to raise the level of maturity of atmospheric ion thrusters for aeronautics. Ionic thrusters, which have no moving parts, offer robustness and silent propulsion. This is an emerging field of investigation in the context of the electrification of aircraft and low-carbon air transport.

In the European consortium, ISAE-SUPAERO is responsible for the high-speed experimental part and is working closely with IMFT and Franck Plouraboué, who specialises in numerical simulation. In addition to this collaboration, the École Polytechnique is working on a new electrode device capable of sending more ions into the flow in an attempt to increase thrust density. These electrodes will be tested on the ISAE-SUPAERO test bench to carry out ambitious electric field measurements and laser measurements of the flow.

The French team is in charge of the external velocity coupling part of the flow and the development of new electrodes. Each team is developing its own specific area of expertise, which will be brought together at the ISAE-SUPAERO facility. Indications are beginning to emerge, and the trends are encouraging, but they are not yet precise enough to be published.

The other universities are working on the design of a small-scale demonstrator incorporating these optimised propulsion systems. Ultimately, the aim of the project is to design a full-scale stratospheric airship with a high degree of autonomy using solar-powered ion thrusters. These airships could replace many satellite functions, such as telecommunications or telediction, at lower cost and with the advantage of being recoverable, all with a reduced environmental impact.

If the initial results prove encouraging, it will then be possible to launch research into co-propulsion. The ionic system could be coupled to a conventional propulsion system, switched off at take-off and activated at altitude in cruise mode when thrust requirements are lower. It could reduce the need for internal combustion engines, whose efficiency could be greatly improved. But there are certainly many applications that we haven't yet thought of, which could be envisaged at high speed and high altitude.

Nicolas Binder

The study of this technology opens up a wide scientific field covering fundamental research into ion production, its coupling with airflow, electrode optimisation, aircraft integration, and even more if chance gets involved.

Staffing services: a win-win solution

Publication Date

15 September 2023

Category

Research

Tag

Partnership

Provision of personnel

Meeting with Quentin Bausière

What motivated you to join this scheme at ISAE-SUPAERO?

The pandemic compromised many research and development projects at Airbus, including the one I was involved in, which was stopped in December 2020. As a result, I started looking for a new technical challenge. The opportunity to take part in a 2-year academic research project came along at the same time and was just what I was looking for. Above and beyond a project specific to ISAE-SUPAERO, I wanted to take part in an exciting, ambitious project with real added value for my personal and professional development.

What project have you been working on?

I worked on the VIRTUOSE (VIRTUal testing of aeronautical compoSite structurEs) project on the study of composite aeronautical structures under complex loading. The project is being led by the Institut Clément Ader (ICA) and Joël Serra, a research engineer and winner of the Lopez-Loretta prize for excellence in academic research and a former student and doctoral student at ISAE-SUPAERO.

The aim of this research is to develop mechanical dimensioning methods to reduce the number of tests to be carried out during the development of a composite material aircraft structure. The aim is to combine numerical analyses with highly instrumented tests in order to improve the prediction of structural behaviour, so as to optimise structures and be more reactive in the design process.
I worked on both the development of the tests and their operation and modelling techniques. Working on all aspects of the project, from planning to carrying out the tests and using the results, was very valuable.

What have you gained from this collaboration in scientific and human terms?

This collaboration has enabled me to be in contact and exchange ideas with researchers of a high scientific and technical level. The testing equipment at the ICA is at the cutting edge of experimental techniques and enabled me to combine technical and scientific aspects. What’s more, the proximity of the researchers and the exchanges in various fields gave me an insight into fascinating research topics. Collaboration is really the key and the source of progress within the laboratory.

This collaboration will continue with your project. Do you think that this scheme could be extended to other research projects?

I will continue to be part of the VIRTUOSE project, in which Airbus is a major partner, until its end in May 2024. The test campaigns are underway and the participation of an Airbus employee means that we can work together to achieve the set objective and use these tests in companies.

These systems can be applied in other institutes or other academic research laboratories. In my opinion, it is in the interests of industry to work closely with researchers, so that they can continue to innovate. Researchers also have an interest in being in contact with manufacturers to understand their problems and their environment, so that they can support them in their technical and scientific challenges. The aeronautics industry is facing a number of technical and environmental challenges, and this is the ideal field in which to tackle them.

On a more personal note, what have you gained from working with us?

I’m very pleased with this collaboration and I’d like to thank both institutions for giving me this opportunity. I hope to maintain links with my partners at ISAE-SUPAERO, the Department of Mechanics and Structure of Materials (DMSM) and, more generally, the ICA, in the future to exchange ideas and make the most of this collaboration.

A multi-tutorial collaboration

Christophe Bouvet is a professor at ISAE-SUPAERO. He teaches the mechanics of aeronautical structures and materials, and in particular the dimensioning of composite structures. He is the ISAE-SUPAERO referent and has been working closely with Quentin Bausière for the past 2 years as part of the Virtuose project (VIRTUal testing of aeronautical composiSite structurEs) on the study of composite aeronautical structures under complex loading.

This is the project carried out thanks to Joël Serra’s winning of the Lopez Loreta prize, worth €1m, in 2019. This prize follows on from the ANR VERTEX award obtained in 2013 by Bruno Castanié, following his thesis, defended in 2000, during which he developed a multiaxial testing machine for composite sandwich structures.

This project is being carried out within the Institut Clément Ader, with contributions from the laboratory’s various supervisory bodies.

The main participants in this project are Joël Serra, ISAE-SUPAERO research engineer, Bruno Castanié, INSA Toulouse professor, Christophe Bouvet, ISAE-SUPAERO professor, Jean-Noël Périé UPS research professor, Quentin Bausière, Airbus engineer, Jean-Charles Passieux, INSA Toulouse professor and numerous students and doctoral students. It is therefore an example of the complementarity that a multi-tutored CNRS laboratory like the ICA can provide!

Horizon Europe Pathfinder, the European IPROP project

Publication Date

25 July 2023

Category

Research

Tag

Decarbonization

Sustainability

Presentation of the project

The IPROP project, part of the Horizon Europe Pathfinder framework, aims to raise the level of maturity of atmospheric ion thrusters for aeronautics. Ionic thrusters, which have no moving parts, offer robustness and silent propulsion with low CO2 emissions.
IPROP’s initial ambition is to develop optimised propulsion units and implement them on an ion-propelled airship demonstrator. Ultimately, the aim is to design a full-scale, long-range stratospheric airship using solar-powered ion thrusters.

The work entrusted to ISAE-SUPAERO is of an experimental nature, supervised by Nicolas Binder of the Aerodynamics and Propulsion Department (DAEP). In close partnership with the plasma laboratory of the Ecole Polytechnique and the Toulouse Institute of Fluid Mechanics (IMFT), the aim is to explore the physics surrounding ion thrusters when they are immersed in a high-speed flow. Direct measurements of the electric field in the zone of high ion concentration (drift zone) are also envisaged, which would constitute a major experimental achievement. Finally, advanced anode configurations that boost the ionic concentration in the drift zone will be tested in the DAEP wind tunnel.

A few details about the project

European funding
HORIZON-EIC PATHFINDER
Led by Marco Belan – Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi)
ISAE-SUPAERO contribution
235k€
Supported by Nicolas Binder – DAEP
List of partners :
Politecnico di Milano (It) / Universita Di Bologna (It) / Karlsruher Institut Fuer Tecnologie (Ger) / Von Kaman Institute (Bel) / ISAE-SUPAERO / CNRS (Institut de Mécaniques Fluides de Toulouse -IMFT + Lab Plasma X) / Technische Universität Dresden / Aeronord SAS

Clean Aviation – The European CONCERTO project

Publication Date

20 July 2023

Category

Research

Tag

Decarbonization

Sustainability

European CONCERTO project

ISAE-SUPAERO is taking part in the European CONCERTO project under the Clean Aviation programme, led by Dassault Aviation and involving 32 partners, as well as benefiting from close collaboration with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Its aim is to develop new certification methods and new means of demonstrating conformity for the 3 disruptive aircraft concepts identified by Clean Aviation: the hybrid-electric regional aircraft, the optimised Short-Medium-Range aircraft and the hydrogen-powered aircraft.

In this context, ISAE-SUPAERO is participating in the work on the hydrogen-powered aircraft coordinated by Airbus. The challenges are to define an architectural concept incorporating disruptive hydrogen technologies, to formalise the expected safety objectives, to analyse existing regulations in order to identify gaps and major risks, and to prepare the development of the regulatory corpus for certification.

ISAE-SUPAERO is involved in more detail, as leader in the analysis of regulatory risks, the identification of gaps in current regulations and means of compliance, and the identification of critical points in the regulations to be developed for H2 aircraft.

It is contributing to the definition of the generic concept of a hydrogen-powered aircraft, and the generic concept of operation for a hydrogen-powered aircraft, which will serve as a basic assumption for the construction of regulations. Pipistrel is the sponsor of this working group.

It is also contributing to the preparation of new certification regulations, and means of demonstrating compliance, for H2 aircraft. The leader of this working group is Safran.

20 European funding: €20M project led by DASSAULT AVIATION
200 ISAE-SUPAERO contribution: €200k over 4 years (Project leaders: Joël Jezegou and Yves Gourinat)
32 partners

Clean Aviation – the European HERA project

Publication Date

19 July 2023

Category

Research

Tag

Decarbonization

Sustainability

HORIZON-JU-CLEAN-AVIATION HERA European project

ISAE-SUPAERO is taking part in the European HORIZON-JU-CLEAN-AVIATION HERA project, which has a budget of €35 million and brings together 40 partners led by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Leonardo.

HERA aims to identify concepts for hybrid-electric regional aircraft flying over typical distances of less than 500 kilometres that can meet the challenges of climate change.
The aim is to evaluate the key technologies and architectures with a view to proposing a range of regional-interurban transport solutions for the 2030s.

ISAE-SUPAERO is involved in studies on the overall, optimised design of the aircraft, with a particular focus on the integration of high aspect ratio wings and thermal management solutions. This activity will enable the extension of projects already carried out by the aircraft design and flight dynamics team of the Aerospace Vehicle Design and Control Department (DCAS), such as the Clean Sky U-HARWARD project.

One of the major challenges for the team is to strengthen the capabilities of the open platform for preliminary aircraft design, FAST-OAD, developed by ISAE-SUPAERO and ONERA and which will be implemented in HERA.

35 European funding – €35 million project led by LEONARDO
280 ISAE-SUPAERO contributions €280k over 4 years Emmanuel BENARD – DCAS
More than 40 European partners

AeroMAPS: a tool for assessing the environmental impacts of the aviation sector’s transition

Publication Date

08 June 2023

Category

Research

Tag

Decarbonization

Sustainability

Convinced that higher education and research are major levers in the transition to a sustainable society, ISAE-SUPAERO is placing environmental issues at the heart of its commitment, and is mobilising its teaching skills and scientific expertise to help invent the low-carbon air transport of tomorrow. AeroMAPS, a unique academic tool, is a major contribution to this effort.

Aimed at all stakeholders in the aviation sector, this tool enables a detailed assessment of the environmental impact of aviation transition scenarios. Users can define the scenarios for which they wish to analyse the impacts by playing on the sector’s transition levers: introduction of new types of aircraft and fleet renewal, use of new fuels (biofuels, hydrogen, etc.), air traffic growth rate, etc. On the basis of the hypotheses chosen, AeroMAPS evaluates the corresponding CO2 emissions, but also the other climatic impacts (notably linked to condensation trails) and the associated consumption of energy resources (biomass, electricity).

AeroMAPS was developed by a team of ISAE-SUPAERO researchers and doctoral students led by Thomas Planès, Scott Delbecq and Antoine Salgas. It is the result of three years of development, and is an enhanced version of the CAST tool, which will be published in open-access in 2021. The AeroMAPS code is published as open source, so that the scientific community can test it and follow and participate in its development. In addition, a simplified graphical interface will be made available to facilitate its basic use.

In parallel with this publication, efforts to enhance AeroMAPS are continuing within the framework of the Institute for Sustainable Aviation (ISA), which brings together seven partners from a wide range of disciplines around ISAE-SUPAERO. Ultimately, the researchers aim to use AeroMAPS to offer a multidisciplinary assessment of aviation transition scenarios for society. The tool is designed to model, with several levels of fidelity, the different components of air transport, the associated impacts and their many interactions. New developments are underway to model the costs of transition (alternative fuels, new aircraft) and integrate the effects of regulatory tools (EU-ETS, CORSIA). Over the coming year, a wide range of disciplines (engineering, environment, economics, regulation, sociology, etc.) will be integrated into the project.

Find out more about AeroMAPS here: https://aeromaps.isae-supaero.fr

The AeroMAPS code is available here: https://github.com/AeroMAPS/AeroMA

ISA: Institute for sustainable aviation

Making the transition that will make aviation compatible with the Paris agreements is a challenge that combines technical, economic and social dimensions. It is not just a challenge for engineers and technicians, but also a societal, economic, financial, legal and geopolitical issue that cannot be resolved by a purely techno-scientific approach.

To meet this immense and exciting challenge, a fruitful dialogue must be established between the physical sciences and the human and social sciences. By founding the Institute for Sustainable Aviation (ISA), an interdisciplinary research structure, ISAE-SUPAERO and its partners intend to give life to this dialogue and strengthen the link between science and society.

Created in Toulouse, the European capital of aeronautics, the ISA brings together eight partner institutions: ISAE-SUPAERO, ENAC, Météo-France, CERFACS, Toulouse School of Economics, TBS Education, Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès and Université Toulouse Capitole.

Its aim is to address the issue of the sustainability of aviation through collaborative research at the interface of the social sciences and humanities, financial and industrial economics, aerospace engineering and flight operations, transport and environmental laws and regulations, energy and atmospheric physics.

isa-toulouse.com

Mission Insight: the contribution of researchers from ISAE-SUPAERO

Publication Date

03 May 2023

Category

Research

Tag

DEOS

Space

Powerful seismic waves Insight

Presentation

Probing the heart of Mars: that was the aim of the InSight mission. Although the mission has not been operational on Mars since last December, the information transmitted by the SEIS seismometer has enabled scientists to characterise more precisely the composition of the Red Planet’s core. This is fundamental information for geophysicists, who can use the new data to constrain their planetary models and gain a better understanding of how Mars was formed and how it is changing.

In 2021, the seismometer detected two high-intensity seismic events: an earthquake and a meteorite impact causing a second ground tremor. Scientists captured the seismic waves that then propagated through the Martian core.

Raphaël Garcia, a researcher at ISAE-SUPAERO specialising in planetary cores, worked alongside researchers from various international laboratories to analyse the signals received and determine the distances travelled by the waves. The further away an earthquake occurs from the InSight station, the deeper the seismic waves can penetrate into the planet before being detected. Luckily, this was the case!

Seismic waves travel to the heart of Mars

Until now, discoveries about the Red Planet’s core have been based on seismic waves reflected on its outer boundary with the mantle, providing less precise information.

“We had only been able to constrain the internal structure of Mars up to the surface of the core. We had to wait until days 976 and 1000, i.e. more than two Earth years of the mission, to obtain the last piece of the jigsaw and probe the interior of the Martian core”, explains an enthusiastic Mélanie Drilleau, a seismology researcher in the Space Systems for Planetology and its Applications research group at ISAE-SUPAERO. “We used the data provided by the seismometer, in particular the travel times of seismic waves propagating inside the core compared with those propagating in the mantle alone, to constrain the properties of the core and build the first models of the elastic properties of the planet as a whole,” she adds.

Analysis of the data has enabled the researchers to deduce that the core of Mars is composed not only of iron but also of light elements such as oxygen, sulphur, carbon and hydrogen, and could suggest that the base of the core is liquid.

The analysis work will continue over the coming years. With more than 1300 seismic events recorded over the four years of the mission, scientists hope to make further progress in understanding the structure of Mars.

*Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences

Find out more about the InSight mission

InSight is part of NASA’s Discovery programme, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, and supported spacecraft operations for the mission. Several European partners, including France’s Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument to NASA, with the principal investigator at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP). Major contributions to SEIS came from IPGP; the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) in Switzerland; Imperial College London and Oxford University in the UK; and JPL. The Marsquake Service is led by ETH Zurich, with major contributions from IPGP; the University of Bristol; Imperial College; ISAE-SUPAERO; MPS; and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument, with major contributions from the Space Research Centre (CBK) of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Astronika in Poland. The Spanish Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) provided the temperature and wind sensors.

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BROMO: the joint venture project involving major European space industry players presented to ISAE-SUPAERO students

In December 2025, ISAE-SUPAERO welcomed major players in the European space industry (Airbus, Thales and Leonardo) for an exceptional conference on the BROMO project.

Conference

Space

Videos

Sophie Adenot: from ISAE-SUPAERO to space

Meet Sophie Adenot, astronaut at the European Space Agency (ESA) and ISAE-SUPAERO alumna, who answers three questions! 🚀

Alumni

Diversity program

Space

News

Mars hit by meteorites more often than previously thought

Two researchers from ISAE-SUPAERO contributed to new discoveries based on data from the seismometer sent to Mars during the InSight mission, one of whose main objectives was to measure seismic activity on the Red Planet.

Space

Pages

Research

DAEP

DCAS

DEOS

Videos

Orbit Your Thesis: ISAE-SUPAERO in zero gravity with the AIM experiment

Artery In Microgravity (#AIM), the first student scientific experiment designed and developed in collaboration since 2018 by ISAE-SUPAERO and Polytechnique Turin, was launched on 23 November 2022 by Space X's Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS)! Selected by the ESA as part of its ‘Orbit your thesis’ programme, AIM aims to study the behaviour of the heart and its arteries in space, in order to determine whether people with heart problems will one day be able to stay there.

Prize

Space

News

3 questions to... Marie-Bertille Mosnier, S-Cube member from 2018 to 2022

Meet Marie-Bertille Mosnier, member of the S-Cube - SUPAERO Space Section - ISAE-SUPAERO's experimental rocket club, from 2018 to 2022.

Space

Student club

Student life

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Ariane 6: at ISAE-SUPAERO, researchers are already working on the future

The European Ariane 6 launcher incorporates major technological innovations such as the Vinci engine, capable of reigniting in space. At ISAE-SUPAERO, researchers are tackling the challenges posed by the rocket engines of tomorrow.

Space

News

Meteorite impact reveals new insights into Mars

In September 2021, NASA's InSight mission recorded a meteorite impact. Analysis of the data by scientists has revolutionised our understanding of the internal structure of Mars and its evolution. Its mantle is not homogeneous, as previously assumed, but composed of a layer of molten silicates overlying the core. Press release from the IPGP - Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris: ‘The InSight mission reveals a molten layer at the base of the Martian mantle’.

DEOS

Space

News

DART: ISAE-SUPAERO students publish new scientific findings in Nature Communications

Naomi Murdoch, a planetary science researcher at ISAE-SUPAERO, is actively involved in scientific analysis and data interpretation for NASA's DART mission.

DEOS

Space

News

Focus on... quantum physics at ISAE-SUPAERO: a student journey

ISAE-SUPAERO has been integrating quantum physics into its training and research activities uninterruptedly since 1980, and for the past two decades has been offering courses linked to the second quantum revolution.

DEOS

Doctoral student

Ingénieur généraliste (MSc)

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3 questions to Marie Delaroche, 3ᵉ year student and MDRS 293 crew commander

Since February 18, seven ISAE-SUPAERO engineering students have been living a simulated Martian life and carrying out experiments in collaboration with CNES and several research laboratories at The Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in UTAH (USA)! For the second time, the mission is led by a woman: Marie Delaroche, a passionate #spaceexplorer, who was already part of crew 275 departing in 2023. We asked her 3 questions to find out more about the challenges of this mission and her feelings as #flightcommander! Alongside her, three young women and three young men in their 2ᵉ year of #engineering studies have taken on the roles of astronomer, scientist, botanist, journalist, health worker and onboard engineer. They are all members of the Mars Club ISAE-SUPAERO, a student association for the popularization of science focused on the Red Planet and the missions dedicated to its exploration and study. They are currently experimenting with AI4U, the artificial intelligence that assists astronauts in their daily tasks (environmental measurements, voice recognition, emergency exercises). They are also conducting a science popularization experiment in collaboration with secondary school pupils. Inspired by the film The Martian, in which an astronaut grows potatoes on the Red Planet, the aim of this experiment is to compare plant growth in Martian soil with growth in terrestrial soil! To follow their adventure, click here: https://mars.bde-supaero.fr/

Space

Student club

Student life

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Discover... ISAE-SUPAERO's mobile ground robots

ISAE-SUPAERO - as a center for training through research, research training and innovation - has a wide range of research equipment used in its 6 research departments. Today, we'd like to introduce you to mobile ground robots! Whether robots, airplanes, cars or even telephones, all these technologies are equipped with perception systems. Depending on the application, these sources of information make it possible to perceive the environment in which a system is evolving, and also to measure its own characteristics, such as speed or acceleration. This multitude of data must then be used, cross-referenced and interpreted within the navigation system to obtain the vehicle's position, but also, in the case of mapping applications, that of surrounding objects. Within the DEOS NAVIRRES team, researchers are interested in navigation systems and their application in complex environments where sensor information may be degraded, erroneous or unavailable. Mobile acquisition platforms are being developed. These are equipped with cameras, lidars, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers, radars and inertial units, with the aim of obtaining the most efficient navigation system for the application in question. One of the team's research themes is the analysis of the degradation of sensor information, enabling the development of new robust and adaptive algorithms to compensate for environmental constraints. The aim is to make navigation systems more accurate and safer, for critical applications requiring strong reliability constraints, such as autonomous cars or exploration robotics.

DEOS

News

Unlocking the secrets of earthquakes with stratospheric balloons

A team of DEOS researchers has achieved a significant milestone in the use of infrasound data captured by stratospheric balloons to understand seismic signals. This breakthrough, published in Earth Planets Space*, opens up new perspectives for the study of earthquakes, both on Earth and on other planets.

DEOS

Researcher

Science

Videos

A surprise from elsewhere... from the ISS...?

Hello earth? Thomas Pesquet speaking! Thomas Pesquet, French astronaut and famous ISAE-SUPAERO alumnus (class of 2001), is currently in the ISS as part of his new Alpha mission. He sent our students a personalized message from the European laboratory Columbus...

Alumni

Diversity program

Space

News

ISAE-SUPAERO's researchers are working on establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon.

DCAS

Space

News

SILOE, an experimental drop tower project selected by ESA and an ESPACE grant for Alexia Duchêne

The SILOE experimental drop tower project aims to study the cohesion of planetary surfaces. This student project is supported by ESA as part of its European ‘Academy Experiments’ program. Alexia Duchêne, SILOE project leader, has been awarded a scholarship of excellence from the Fondation des Ailes de France.

DEOS

Space

Testimonials

Testimony of Giuseppe Cataldo, alumnus of the 2010 Engineer ISAE-SUPAERO programme

Alumni

Space

Testimonial

Events

ISAE-SUPAERO will be at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget from June 16 to 22, 2025

ISAE-SUPAERO will be present at the 55ᵉ Salon International de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace at Le Bourget from June 16 to 22, 2025!

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Event

Testimonials

Testimony from Axel Coulon, student (class of 2024) of the TAS ASTRO Advanced Master®

Advanced Master

Space

Testimonial

Videos

Arnaud Prost, ESA reserve astronaut and ISAE-SUPAERO alumnus: “I was incredibly lucky to be here”

Fighter pilot and reserve astronaut with the European Space Agency (ESA), Arnaud Prost returned to his former school on Thursday March 28 to meet 200 secondary school students as part of the ISAE SUPAERO OSE program. It was an opportunity for him to recall the “great memories” of his student experience at ISAE-SUPAERO, his long-standing commitment to the student social outreach program and the “Aquanauts” scheme he set up with OSE l'ISAE-SUPAERO. And in passing, he offers a few words of advice to young people who might dream of following in his footsteps: “Don't let yourself be convinced that one of these paths isn't for you!” A 2017 graduate of ISAE-SUPAERO, Arnaud Prost is among those selected for the ESA Astronaut Class of 2022, alongside Sophie Adenot and Anthea Comellini, both also alumni of the school. They join other illustrious ESA astronauts who have already studied at the school: Thomas Pesquet, Luca Parmitano and Samantha Cristoforetti. Since 1970, ISAE-SUPAERO has contributed to the progress of the space age through its training, research and innovation activities. As the only organization in France to offer degree courses (engineering, master's, specialized master's, doctorate) covering all 22 space-related themes identified by CNES, the Institute offers a royal road to space careers. For Arnaud Prost's full profile: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astronauts/A

Alumni

Diversity program

Space

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The sound of a Martian dust devil captured by the SuperCam microphone on Perseverance

This video and audio show the results obtained by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover and its SuperCam microphone when recording the sounds of a Martian dust devil passing overhead on 27 September 2021, the 215th Martian day or sol of the mission. The dust devil was 25 metres wide and at least 118 metres high, moving at a speed of approximately 19 km/h. This is the first time such a recording has been made, as capturing a dust devil requires a bit of luck. Indeed, it flew over the rover at a time when all of Perseverance's sensors measuring wind, pressure, temperature and dust, plus the NavigationXXX (Navcam) camera, were running. This allowed scientists to combine sounds, images and atmospheric data. The unique combination of this data, along with atmospheric modelling, enabled researchers to estimate the dimensions of the dust devil. Scientists cannot accurately predict when these vortices will occur. Rovers such as Perseverance and Curiosity monitor them regularly. When scientists notice that they are more frequent at a certain time of day or approaching from a certain direction, they focus their monitoring to try to capture a dust devil with all the sensors at their disposal. > To better understand the video, it shows three rows of images: - the row

DEOS

Researcher

Space

Events

16th EASN International Conference

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Event

Pages

Semester Research Projects

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Aerospace summer program

News

Valentin LELOUP, quantum and optical telecommunications systems engineer: the quantum and space tandem

Valentin Leloup, R&D engineer at Thales, combines two fields of expertise: quantum physics and space. He holds an engineering degree from ISAE-SUPAERO 2022 and a Master 2 in fundamental physics and applications.

Alumni

News

Research

News

ISAE-SUPAERO and Spaceflight Institute join forces to train tomorrow's manned flight experts

On July 29, 2025, ISAE-SUPAERO and the Spaceflight Institute signed a partnership agreement for the joint creation of a “Certificate of Advanced Studies in Human Spaceflight”. This new semester-long program aims to train a new generation of space professionals, combining academic excellence with operational expertise.

Certificates of advanced studies

Education

Space

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Advanced Space Concepts Laboratory - Airbus DS & ArianeGroup

Created in 2017 and renewed until 2027, this sponsorship partnership brings together Airbus Defense & Space and Ariane Group.

Aerospace

Chair

Company

Pages

Our Specialised Studies Certificates

Advanced Master

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Videos

Discover... ISAE-SUPAERO's cryogenic equipment for electrical testing

ISAE-SUPAERO - as a center for training through research, research training and innovation - has a wide range of research equipment used by its 6 research departments. Today, we present our cryogenic equipment for electrical testing! ISAE-SUPAERO's image sensor research group (CIMI) studies sensors in the visible wavelength range, but also sensors in different spectral ranges such as infrared. Detection of these longer wavelengths requires materials other than silicon for detection, combined with a silicon readout circuit for information processing, all operating at cryogenic temperature. In this context, ISAE-SUPAERO has developed electrical and electro-optical characterization benches for low-temperature microelectronic circuits, in order to extract and model their behavior and performance. These characterization benches can address both very simple circuits, such as transistors, and complex components (complete sensors) with up to 120 inputs/outputs.

DEOS

News

ISAE-SUPAERO will be at the Paris Air Show from June 16 to 22, 2025!

Aeronautics

Event

Fair

News

CASTOR Chair: ISAE-SUPAERO and Liebherr-Aerospace Toulouse celebrate 1 year of partnership

Aeronautics

Chair

Partnership

Testimonials

Testimony from Stéphanie Lizy-Destrez, elected member of the Air and Space Academy

DCAS

Space

Teacher researcher

Videos

Discover... the ISAE-SUPAERO plasma bench

ISAE-SUPAERO – as a centre for training through research, research training and innovation – has a wide range of research equipment used within its six research departments. Today, we present white plasma! With the emergence of #NewSpace, more and more CubeSats are being launched. On these small platforms (CubeSats consist of one or more standard 10 cm cubes), several subsystems must coexist. While electric propulsion solutions save space and weight on board, their electromagnetic compatibility with on-board communication systems is still being questioned today. ISAE-SUPAERO, in collaboration with CNES and LAPLACE, is currently developing simulation tools and characterisation methods to provide engineers with tools for designing CubeSats and effective testing methods to address this issue. This experimental bench developed at ISAE-SUPAERO allows the characterisation of a plasma discharge representative of an electric thruster, as well as the measurement of its interactions with microwave signals generated by nearby communication antennas. Finally, the experimental data obtained will be used to calibrate the numerical analysis tools currently being developed by our teams.

DEOS

News

3 questions to... Ervan Kassarian, S-Cube member from 2015 to 2017

Meet Ervan Kassarian, member of S-Cube - SUPAERO Space Section - ISAE-SUPAERO's experimental rocket club, from 2015 to 2017.

Space

Student club

Student life

Events

The "Assises du NewSpace" returns on July 7 & 8, 2026!

Event

Space

Videos

Training courses: space studies

Find out more about our courses and #information in the field of space! The space dimension is strongly developed within our various training courses, whether in specific streams or dedicated programs. French and international students alike are showing a keen interest in our educational programs in Earth observation and the sciences of the Universe, as well as in the design and operation of space systems. Space research and industry employ many ISAE-SUPAERO engineers. Explore the world of space!

Programme

Space

Pages

Connected Systems (SysCo) Scientific Group

The scientific dynamic of the “Connected Systems” (SysCo) scientific group focuses primarily on network-related issues in aerospace applications, i.e. space communications, embedded networks and certain types of connected systems.

DISC

Doctoral student

PhD

News

“My summer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory”: Axel’s account, a student on the TAS Astro Advanced Master’s programme

Since May, Axel Coulon has been interning at NASA's famous JPL in Los Angeles. He is working on detecting helicopter landing sites on Mars. A student in the MS TAS Astro programme, he recounts this incredible space adventure that took him from his native Lorraine to California.

Internship

Programme

Space

News

ISAE-SUPAERO is co-hosting the 16th EASN International Conference in Toulouse

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Innovation

News

3 questions to... Loïc Jecker, S-Cube member from 2011 to 2013

Meet Loïc Jecker, member of S-Cube - SUPAERO Space Section - ISAE-SUPAERO's experimental rocket club, from 2011 to 2013.

Space

Student club

Student life

Videos

Sylvestre Maurice presents the SUPERCAM / Martian Exploration educational kit

The ‘SUPERCAM - Martian Exploration’ educational kit project was initiated by five partners: ISAE-SUPAERO, the Toulouse Academy, CNRS, CNES and Cité de l'espace. Under the guidance and supervision of astrophysicist Sylvestre Maurice, first-year students at ISAE-SUPAERO developed this educational tool to raise awareness of space exploration in classrooms, from sixth form to final year. This kit is available to middle and high school teachers and can be adapted to offer educational lessons related to this theme.

Diversity program

Equal opportunities

Researcher

Pages

Lasbordes Air Operations Center (COAL)

DCAS

Doctoral student

PhD

Pages

Scientific and research integrity

DAEP

DCAS

DEOS

News

MMX, Idefix® and cameras to understand Mars' moon

Studying the formation and origin of Mars' moons and bringing back samples: this is the extraordinary, ambitious international mission led by JAXA, in which ISAE-SUPAERO is participating alongside CNES.

DEOS

Researcher

Space

Events

2026 edition of "Les Entretiens de Toulouse"

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Event

News

Researchers from ISAE-SUPAERO contributed to the success of the first images from ESA's Sentinel 2c observation satellite.

The Sentinel 2c Earth observation satellite, launched on 5 September as part of ESA's Copernicus mission, has delivered its first images. This success is partly due to the image sensor research team (CIMI) at ISAE-SUPAERO, which designed and oversaw the manufacture of the visible image sensors.

DEOS

Space

Testimonials

Testimonial of Baptiste Sigal, Advanced Master® TAS ASTRO student (class) 2025

Advanced Master

Aerospace

Space

Pages

Navigation, Radar, and Remote Sensing (NAVIR² eS) Scientific Group

The “Navigation, Radar and Remonte Sensing” (NAVIR² eS) scientific group is interested in the theoretical study of information sources and hybridization approaches for autonomous vehicle navigation applications.

DEOS

Doctoral student

PhD

News

RAMSES: ISAE-SUPAERO at the heart of a historic planetary defense mission

Le sismomètre SIA développé par l'ISAE-SUPAERO est une première mondiale pour explorer l'astéroïde Apophis

DEOS

Research

Space

Pages

Photonics Antenna Microwave PlasmaA (PAMPA) Scientific Group

The “Photonics Antenna Microwave PlasmaA” (PAMPA) scientific group is interested in electromagnetism in the fields of microwaves and photonics, as well as wave-plasma interactions.

DEOS

Doctoral student

PhD

Pages

Electronics, Optronics, and Signal Processing Department (DEOS)

At ISAE SUPAERO, the Department of Electronics, Optronics and Signal Processing (DEOS) studies, designs and produces scientific instruments for aeronautics, space and defense applications, with a strong focus on advanced systems and planetary exploration missions.

DEOS

Videos

Discover... the ISAE-SUPAERO radio anechoic chamber

DCAS

DEOS

Pages

Our Semester & Short Programmes

Discover ISAE-SUPAERO's academic excellence through our semester and short programmes, open to international students.

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Aerospace summer program

News

ISAE-SUPAERO back on mission with Hera

The Hera mission, an international planetary defence mission, is on its way to study the asteroid Dimorphos, which will be struck by DART in 2022. ISAE-SUPAERO is actively collaborating in this international planetary defence programme through the research work of Naomi Murdoch and the SSPA team.

DEOS

Space

Videos

Sylvestre Maurice, astrophysicist and ISAE-SUPAERO alumnus

Awarded a prize by the Académie des Sciences in 2020, Sylvestre Maurice #astrophysicist at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP) in Toulouse witnessed the landing of the #Perseverance rover on Mars on February 18, 2021. A historic moment for this enthusiast, who is also the scientific manager of the onboard SuperCam instrument. A 1990 graduate of ISAE-SUPAERO, Sylvestre Maurice tells us about his career.

Alumni

Researcher

Space

Events

Les Assises du New Space 2025: discussions and debates on NewSpace!

The 2025 edition of the Assises du New Space will be held this year on July 8-9, 2025 at the Centre des congrès de la Villette - Cité des sciences et de l'industrie in Paris. Aimed at all players in the French space ecosystem, this event is a unique opportunity to exchange ideas and debate around NewSpace, and to discover the latest technological innovations and project financing opportunities. Registration is now open!

Conference

Event

Round table

Pages

Space Systems for Planetology and Applications (SSPA) Scientific Group

The “Space Systems for Planetology and Applications” (SSPA) scientific group focuses on one main area of research: The development of missions and associated technologies for geophysical exploration of the solar system.

DEOS

Doctoral student

PhD

Pages

Innovating in a World of Transition - Safran

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Chair

Pages

Our Short Modules

Advanced Master

Aeronautics

Aerospace

News

Seven ISAE-SUPAERO students set out to conquer Mars in the Utah desert

For four weeks, seven engineering students will experience a simulation of life on Mars in the Utah desert in the United States. From 18th February to 16th March, they will conduct experiments in collaboration with CNES and several research laboratories at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS).

Space

Student club

News

The Jupiter system: a unique laboratory for a major scientific breakthrough

Nicolas André, teacher-researcher at ISAE-SUPAERO, co-authors a major discovery in Nature Communications.

DEOS

Exploration

Space

Videos

Perseverance collects first Martian sounds: explanation by Dr. Naomi Murdoch & Dr. Alexander Stott

Dr Naomi Murdoch, researcher in space instrumentation and planetary science, and Dr Alexander Stott, post-doctoral fellow, tell us more about the physical characteristics of Mars' atmosphere, in particular the speed of sound and its attenuation. These analyses were published in Nature on April 1, 2022 by an international team led by a teacher-researcher from Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier University, and including scientists from CNRS and ISAE-SUPAERO.

DEOS

Researcher

Space

News

Alexandre Bouraoui Takes Gold at the 2025 International Astronautical Congress

Congress

DEOS

Event

Pages

French Space Defence Academy

In order to drive and implement the ambitions set out in the Space Defence Strategy, the creation of a space defence expertise sector offering attractive programmes is a major challenge. In this regard, the French Space Defence Academy (ASD) offers programmes available within the Armed Forces Ministry and leverages synergies between them to provide a personalised approach to space programmes.

Defence

Education

Partner

News

Apply today for a program at ISAE-SUPAERO or ENAC - École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile!

The TSAAE application platform is now open: discover our world-renowned programs and apply online for the 2026 academic year before November 28 at midnight (French time)!

Advanced Master

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Videos

FRENCH SUPERCAM INSTRUMENT RECORDING THE SOUND OF INGENUITY'S 4th FLIGHT

Located 80 meters from the rover at the moment of take-off, the small helicopter rose to 5 meters above the ground before covering a distance of 133 meters before returning to land where it had taken off from. SuperCam's scientific microphone, developed by ISAE-SUPAERO, recorded the sound emitted by the rotation of the Martian drone's blades during its flight. This sound has a characteristic frequency of 84 Hz, equivalent to the low “E” of a piano or the bass voice of a human being. “This is a big surprise for the whole scientific team,” says Naomi Murdoch, a researcher at ISAE-SUPAERO who is studying the data from the microphone. "Tests carried out in a Martian atmosphere simulator to design this instrument, and our theories of sound propagation, indicated that the microphone would have great difficulty picking up the sounds of the helicopter. Indeed, Mars' thin atmosphere strongly attenuates sound transmission. We needed a bit of luck to record the helicopter from such a distance. We're very pleased to have succeeded in obtaining this recording, which is proving to be a goldmine for our understanding of the Martian atmosphere". Developed jointly by ISAE-SUPAERO and a consortium of CNRS laboratories and its partners, coordinated by CNES, SuperCam's microphone is derived from a consumer model adapted to withstand the Martian environment. It pursues 3 substantial scientific and technical objectives of the Mars 2020 mission: Study the sound associated with laser impacts on Martian rocks, to gain a better understanding of their mechanical properties. Improving our understanding of atmospheric phenomena (wind turbulence, dust eddies, wind interactions with the rover, and now with the helicopter). Understanding the sound signature of the rover's various movements (robotic arm and mast operations, driving on normal or uneven ground, pump monitoring, etc.). The microphone was first switched on a few hours after Perseverance landed. It recorded the first Martian sounds generated by turbulence in the atmosphere. It is used daily in conjunction with laser rock ablation for chemical analysis of Mars. ABOUT THE MARS 2020 MISSION: NASA is relying on Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the development of the Mars 2020 mission. SuperCam was developed jointly by LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) and a consortium of laboratories attached to the CNRS, French universities and research establishments. Several Spanish universities, led by the University of Valladolid, are also contributing to the instrument. CNES is responsible to NASA for the French contribution to SuperCam. The instrument is operated alternately from LANL and the French Operations Center for Science and Exploration (FOCSE) at CNES in Toulouse.

DEOS

Researcher

Space

Events

AASTRA Certificate: presentation webinar on March 25 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Air transport

News

Capturing the seismic activity of an asteroid: our Apophis rendezvous

DEOS

Research

Space

News

Mars mission simulation: a scientific experiment, a human adventure

Like nine other ISAE-SUPAERO crews before them, seven students took part in a simulation of life on Mars in the Utah desert in the United States this winter.

Space

Student club

Videos

ISAE-SUPAERO and Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology work on student space exploration projects

ISAE-SUPAERO received a visit from Professor Shine S R of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) on December 7 and 8. ISAE-SUPAERO signed a co #cooperation agreement with the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology in 2020 and this visit was a perfect opportunity to discuss the deepening of #training and #research collaborations between our two institutions. ISAE-SUPAERO and IIST have already been cooperating for 4 years within the framework of Franco-Indian collaborative academic projects, involving students from ISAE-SUPAERO and IIST on subjects related to space exploration missions and with the participation of experts from CNES, IRAP and the Indian space agency (ISRO)!

Space

News

Focus on... quantum physics in ISAE-SUPAERO training courses

DEOS

Ingénieur généraliste (MSc)

Teacher researcher

Events

AASTRA Certificate: Introductory Webinar on May 26 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Air transport

News

The 2025 Edmond Brun Prize from the French Academy of Sciences awarded to Annafederica Urbano, professor at ISAE-SUPAERO

DCAS

News

Prize

News

Listening to the Martian past: ISAE-SUPAERO at the heart of the ExoMars mission

ESA's ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission to explore Mars will carry a unique instrument for recording sound and atmospheric data from the planet. The Institute has been selected by ESA and CNES for this major scientific collaboration.

DEOS

Researcher

Science

Pages

Integrated Image Sensors (CIMI) Scientific Group

The “Integrated Image Sensors” (CIMI) scientific group, develops and characterizes active-pixel image sensors (CMOS Image Sensors (CIS)) on silicon for visible and infrared radiation.

DEOS

Doctoral student

PhD

Pages

Applied Mathematics (MA) Scientific Group

The “Applied Mathematics” (MA) scientific group covers a wide range of topics: Stochastic processes (especially Markov processes), numerical optimization (especially multidisciplinary optimization) and parallel computing, stabilization, control and numerical solution of partial differential equations, and financial engineering.

DISC

Doctoral student

PhD

News

Meeting with Stéphanie Lizy-Destrez, elected member of the Air and Space Academy

At ISAE-SUPAERO, Stéphanie Lizy-Destrez heads SaCLaB, a research laboratory focusing on future space systems. A professor of space systems engineering, she has just been elected to the French Air and Space Academy.

Award

Space

Teacher researcher

Videos

ISAE-SUPAERO and Airbus Defence and Space organize an international training course on space systems

Twenty engineers from the Peruvian space agency CONIDA (Comisión Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Aeroespacial) attended a training course in Toulouse designed jointly by ISAE-SUPAERO and Airbus Defence and Space! The aim? To develop their skills in space systems and space missions. The entire program was placed under the academic responsibility of AnnaFederica Urbano, a lecturer and researcher in space systems and launchers at ISAE-SUPAERO. The engineers took part in a preliminary satellite design project. At the end of the five-week course, they all obtained the Certificate of Advanced Studies awarded by ISAE-SUPAERO. For ISAE-SUPAERO and Airbus Defence and Space, this experience opens up prospects for future collaborations in training courses of this type for international customers and industrial and institutional partners. For more information: https://www.isae-supaero.fr/fr/actualites/airbus-defence-and-space-et-l-isae-supaero-forment-des-membres-de-l-agence/

Programme

Space

Videos

Visiting professors at ISAE-SUPAERO: DAN SCHEERES

ISAE-SUPAERO est un établissement d'enseignement supérieur axé sur la recherche et l'innovation, qui s'engage à concilier excellence scientifique, visibilité académique et proximité avec les objectifs industriels. Ses activités de recherche ont contribué à faire de l'école un leader international non seulement en termes de programme d'ingénierie aérospatiale, mais aussi de programmes de troisième cycle, notamment ses masters (MSc) et ses programmes de doctorat en sciences de l'ingénierie. C'est pourquoi de nombreux acteurs internationaux clés de la recherche rendent visite à leurs homologues de l'ISAE-SUPAERO. Nous avons rencontré Dan Sheeres, professeur émérite de l'université du Colorado et titulaire de la chaire A. Richard Seebass au département des sciences de l'ingénierie aérospatiale Ann et H.J. Smead de l'université du Colorado à Boulder. Les recherches de Dan Scheeres couvrent des sujets allant de l'astrodynamique et de la navigation spatiale à la science planétaire et à la mécanique céleste, et il a publié de nombreux articles dans ces domaines. L'astéroïde 8887 a été baptisé « Scheeres » en reconnaissance de ses contributions à la compréhension scientifique de l'environnement dynamique des astéroïdes. Pendant son séjour à l'ISAE-SUPAERO, le professeur Scheeres et l'équipe des systèmes spatiaux pour les applications planétaires ont collaboré à l'analyse des données DART et au développement de concepts visant à étudier la structure interne des astéroïdes lors de futures missions spatiales. De plus, Dan Scheeres et l'ISAE-SUPAERO ont publié conjointement plusieurs articles dans « Nature » sur les astéroïdes et la mission DART.

DEOS

Researcher

Space

News

Hera probe captures exceptional images of Mars and its moon Deimos

DEOS

Researcher

Science

News

Airbus Defence and Space and ISAE-SUPAERO train members of the Peruvian space agency

DCAS

Short internship

Space

News

CIME 2025: Where Science Meets Adventure to Push the Limits of Exploration

At ISAE-SUPAERO, the 2025 Interdisciplinary Congress on Extreme Worlds (CIME) gathers researchers and adventurers determined to push human limits in the planet’s most extreme environments.

Exploration

Innovation

Space

News

Training new skills for the future of space: COMETES is launched!

Company

Job

Space

Pages

Prior Experience Accreditation

Advanced Master

Aeronautics

Aerospace

News

ISAE-SUPAERO contributes to the Artemis IV mission with the SPSS seismology instrument

NASA selects the JPL/CNES instrument suite for the Artemis IV mission, paving the way for unprecedented exploration of the Moon’s internal structure at the South Pole.

DEOS

Exploration

Space

Pages

Design and Analysis of Critical Systems (CASC) Scientific Group

The “Design and Analysis of Critical Systems” (CASC) scientific group focuses on methods, processes and tools to support System Engineering and Systems Engineering.

DISC

Doctoral student

PhD

Pages

Learning, Decision, Optimisation (ADO) Scientific Group

DISC

Doctoral student

PhD

Videos

The Dart mission has hit its target: explanations from Dr Naomi Murdoch, planetary scientist at ISAE-SUPAERO

Researchers from ISAE-SUPAERO are participating in this first planetary defence mission. Dr. Naomi Murdoch, a researcher at ISAE-SUPAERO and scientific member of the #DART and #HERA missions, comments on the objectives of DART and those of the European HERA mission, which will arrive in the area in 2026 to characterise the crater left by DART and study the internal structure of the asteroid #Dimorphos!

DEOS

Researcher

Space

Videos

SUPERCAM Educational Kits / Martian Exploration: Students at the controls of the kits

Follow ISAE-SUPAERO students as they create educational kits, a digital educational tool designed to raise awareness of space exploration that can be used in classrooms from Year 7 to Year 13.

Diversity program

Equal opportunities

Space

Pages

Support for the Development of the ISAE Group - GIFAS

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Chair

News

ISAE-SUPAERO announces new partnership with ESA Academy to support future Master in Aerospace Engineering students

Aerospace

Master in Aerospace Engineering

Scholarship

News

CASTOR Chair: Liebherr-Aerospace Toulouse and ISAE-SUPAERO, a win-win partnership

Aeronautics

Chair

Company

Videos

Start-up insights: interview with Ugo Bonnet from the Space Flight Institute

In recent years, ISAE-SUPAERO has developed a range of services and comprehensive support for its project leaders (students, doctoral students, teacher-researchers, and alumni), earning it the title of incubator. It is in line with this support philosophy that the Institute currently hosts numerous startups that were created within its walls. Today we welcome Ugo Bonnet, CEO of the Space Flight Institute, a company that offers innovative training (in partnership with ISAE-SUPAERO) to future professionals in human spaceflight, whether on Earth or in orbit. Ugo Bonnet discusses the creation of the organization, its major successes, and its plans for the future.

Alumni

Space

Startup

Videos

Sophie Adenot is flying out on February 11th for a eight-month mission with Crew-12 on the ISS!

Today, the entire ISAE-SUPAERO community is coming together: students, staff, faculty, and alumni are showing their support for Sophie Adenot, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and ISAE-SUPAERO alumna, as she embarks on a eight-month mission to the ISS. Sophie is the second French woman, 30 years after Claudie Haigneré, to fly on a long-duration mission. On the ISS, she will conduct around 200 scientific experiments, including 10 French experiments, covering fields such as medicine and materials physics. Have a good flight, Sophie. We will be following you throughout this amazing journey!

Alumni

Exploration

Space

Pages

The “Certificate of Advanced Studies in Human Spaceflight” offered by the Spaceflight Institute in collaboration with ISAE-SUPAERO

The Spaceflight Institute is the first institute dedicated to training in human spaceflight. In partnership with ISAE-SUPAERO, it offers an intensive training program that enables participants to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges of human spaceflight and to position themselves within a rapidly expanding ecosystem, marked by future lunar and Martian missions as well as the rapid emergence of commercial space stations and private initiatives in low Earth orbit.

Education

Innovation

Partner

News

Les Assises du New Space: update of the “Ambition NewSpace 2027” report

In 2022, the Assises du NewSpace collective - a group of players representing the French space industry - published the report “Ambition NewSpace 2027”. Today, the collective is launching another major national consultation to update this report and shape the future of French space!

Conference

Round table

Space

Events

"Les Entretiens de Toulouse - Training through debate”: April 9 & 10, 2025 on the ISAE-SUPAERO campus

Aeronautics

Artificial intelligence

Defence

News

An exceptional scholarship for an innovative project

Naomi Murdoch, a researcher in physics and planetology at ISAE-SUPAERO, has just been awarded the prestigious Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for her planetary body study project called GRAVITE. This ambitious scientific project aims to design a variable gravity machine that will enable the simulation and study of extraterrestrial soils.

DEOS

Scholarship

Space

Testimonials

Testimony from Alexandre Bouraoui, engineering student by apprenticeship and IAC 2025 Award Winner

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Congress

Pages

Communication and Information Theory (ComiT) Scientific Group

The “Communication and Information Theory” (ComiT) scientific group is involved in the disciplines of digital communications, radar, and channel access techniques. Its fields of application include space systems, civil and military aviation, terrestrial cellular networks and the Internet of Things (IoT).

DEOS

Doctoral program

Doctoral student

Pages

Aerospace Summer Programme

Enjoy a unique experience at the heart of aeronautics and space technology with intensive courses, exclusive industrial visits, and an international immersion in Paris, Poitiers and Toulouse.

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Aerospace summer program

Pages

Spring Semester in Aeronautical Engineering

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Aerospace summer program

News

Landing on Mars: a unique experience for seven students

Seven ISAE-SUPAERO students have been selected to join the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in the United States. This replica of a Martian base will host the crew for four weeks, during which they will live in conditions similar to those found on Mars. The objective is to conduct experiments in situ in collaboration with research partners.

Space

Student club

Student life

Pages

Theory, Modelling, and Systems Engineering (ThéMIS) Scientific Group

The “Theory, Modeling and Systems Engineering” (ThéMIS) scientific group is dedicated to the study and development of advanced methods for the design, modeling and validation of complex systems.

DISC

Doctoral student

PhD

Pages

Job offers

Aeronautics

Aerospace

Testimonials

Testimony of Juan-Carlos DOLADO-PEREZ, alumni of the 2008 Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering

Alumni

Space

Testimonial

Videos

Discover... the ISAE-SUPAERO irradiator

ISAE-SUPAERO – as a centre for training through research, research training and innovation – has a wide range of research equipment used within its six research departments. Today, we present the irradiator! As part of its research activities, ISAE-SUPAERO develops electronic components and systems for scientific and space applications. Space is a very aggressive environment, particularly because high-energy particles emitted by the sun or trapped in radiation belts threaten the health of astronauts, the properties of materials and the proper functioning of electronic chips. In order to reproduce the effects of this ionising radiation on electronic technologies in the laboratory, ISAE-SUPAERO has acquired an X-ray irradiation chamber with an energy of up to 320 keV. This video shows a typical use of this equipment: an electronic component to be tested is placed in the irradiation chamber, the X-ray tube is switched on, and the effects on the component's operation (in this case, an image sensor) are observed and measured in real time.

DEOS

Videos

Discover... CMOS image sensors at ISAE-SUPAERO

ISAE-SUPAERO - as a center for training through research, research training and innovation - has a wide range of research equipment used in its 6 research departments. Today, we present CMOS image sensors! CMOS image sensors are playing an increasingly important role in our everyday lives. For several years now, our team at ISAE-SUPAERO has been developing CMOS image sensors with a number of players in the field, and innovating by proposing new architectures and conditions of use requiring studies of both elementary components and more complex structures. Measurements are carried out on transistors and diodes with the help of an under-tip tester and a parametric analyzer enabling very low current measurements (10 aA). Similarly, simple structures containing innovative pixels can be operated with the tester using spike cards coupled to a word generator specially designed for image sensors. All these studies not only contribute to our understanding of the physics of photodetection, but also provide models for our simulators. They are also used to monitor manufacturing processes during the various production phases.

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Content Related To'Research'

ISAE-SUPAERO expands its collaboration with TU Delft on sustainable aviation

Publication Date

17 April 2023

Category

Research

Tag

Decarbonization

Partnership

Sustainability

The cooperation between the two organisations in terms of the transition of the aerospace sector is fully in line with the priorities of both countries in terms of sustainable mobility.

The agreement will begin with a pilot project focusing on optimising the weight and aerodynamic performance of aircraft, which, alongside traditional safety issues, is a major area of research for sustainable aviation.

Three theses will be launched, focusing on:

New bio-inspired composite materials,
aerostructure design methods that minimise the amount of waste produced,
innovative composite assembly techniques to better anticipate potential failures.

This work will make use of AI, digital twins and additive manufacturing, and will be supported by life-cycle analyses. The three PhD students will be co-supervised by ISAE-SUPAERO and TU Delft, and will work in both Toulouse and Delft.

The agreement also provides for intensified collaboration between the two institutions on European innovation projects. Companies from both countries will be able to participate in the funding of these projects.

This new cooperation agreement was signed by François Alabrune, the French ambassador to the Netherlands, and Eva Voûte (TU Delft), in the presence of Sylvie Retailleau, the French Minister for Higher Education and Research, and Robbert Dijkgraaf, the Dutch Minister for Education, Culture and Science. At the same time, other agreements were also signed between Dutch organisations and leading French research establishments, such as CEA with TNO, INRIA with CWI, IFREMER with Wageningen University, ENSM with the STC group and a joint declaration between INRAE and Wageningen University.

Researchers at ISAE-SUPAERO have been awarded the Newcomb Cleveland Prize for their article ‘Seismic detection of the Martian core’ published in the journal Science!

Publication Date

14 March 2023

Category

Research

Tag

Prize

The Newcomb Cleveland Prize is awarded once a year to an “outstanding” article published in the journal Science during the previous year. The winning article is chosen on the basis of the quality of the research, innovation, the likelihood of influencing the field of research and the interdisciplinary importance of the article.

"From the reflections of seismic waves on the boundary between the core and mantle of Mars, the team was able to determine that Mars has a large core. A large core implies a mantle that is mineralogically similar to Earth's upper mantle and transition zone. However, Mars differs from Earth in terms of its core. The Martian core is much less dense, implying that a number of light elements such as oxygen and sulphur are dissolved in the iron and nickel core. This observation is difficult to reconcile with conventional models of planet formation.

"We will receive 25,000 dollars, which we have decided to donate to Médecins sans Frontières, to help the victims of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria."

Mélanie Drilleau, Raphaël Garcia

Direct access to the article for subscribers: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abi7730

To download the article (link expires on 11 April 2023): https://jirafeau.isae-supaero.fr/f.php?h=1q62giG-&d=1