Marina Ruggieri at IEEE CIS ESPRIT Student Branch Chapter, Tunisia

Host: IEEE CIS ESPRIT Student Branch Chapter, Tunisia

Event Date:  7 August 2025

Event Format: Virtual

Event Summary: IEEE CIS ESPRIT Student Branch Chapter had the honor of hosting the Distinguished Lecture "Design Guidelines for Space Sustainability" as part of our signature webinar series, CIS TALKS 4.0, which focused on AI in space this year. This lecture presented by Pr. Marina Ruggieri offered students and professionals alike the opportunity to gain deeper insight into sustainability in the space environment, a topic that couldn't have been more timely as global awareness continues to grow, and fostered a space of discussion and intellectual exchange that made it all the more impactful. The lecture began with a reflective introduction, about how our approach towards space is revolting yet polluting: Humanity has accomplished remarkable progress in the space sector within a relatively short time, however current trends and countermeasures raise concerns about long-time sustainability. This led us to explore a new approach: one that directly targets the rationalization and removal of space junk, relying on the correct methodology and the right design to complement it. The approach based on Satellite and Network Upcycling and Recycling that Pr. Ruggieri introduced us to opened the door to analyzing its multiple layers, including backward and forward compatibility, and the use of allied technologies that facilitate its implementation from software-defined techniques, extremely high-frequency devices, and artificial intelligence algorithms, an angle that directly aligns with our AI in Space theme. Additionally, we examined specific applications in space, such as Body as a Network Node (ByN), SDN controllers, and experiments like Alphasat and TDP#5 Q/V Telecommunication Experiment. By exploring future trends that could act as enablers of space sustainability, we concluded that this domain needs a profound shift in both priorities and paradigms within the space community, and that raising awareness and encouraging active behavior toward Earth sustainability are, in fact, key to overcoming the sustainability challenges in space. The interactive format, along with Pr. Ruggieri’s openness to address questions from technical details to broader issues like cybersecurity, made the lecture especially impactful. Discussions on potential research directions inspired students and young professionals, while the additional readings provided offered further depth. “Design Guidelines in Space Sustainability” succeeded in combining technical depth with practical relevance and inspiring our audience to further explore solutions for a sustainable future in space. This significantly enriched CIS TALKS 4.0, and reinforced IEEE CIS ESPRIT’s mission to host impactful talks that contribute to our community’s growth.