Since 2008, Team DIANA has carried out its activities at the Polytechnic University of Turin, designing and building rover prototypes for space exploration and for assisting astronauts engaged in planetary colonization missions. DIANA represents a non-conventional and innovative educational model: within the team, students have the opportunity to contribute to the development of a highly complex project, enabling them to apply the knowledge acquired during their academic studies.
The complexity of the project encourages students to collaborate with peers from both their own degree program and other academic backgrounds, allowing them to develop interdisciplinary skills and enhance individual teamwork abilities. In addition, the responsibility assigned to each member and the need to meet strict deadlines foster organizational and management skills, effectively preparing students for their future professional careers.
Throughout these years, the team has consistently collaborated with leading companies in the aerospace sector such as Thales Alenia Space and ALTEC, which provide valuable technical support through multiple project reviews, as well as granting access to their facilities and personnel for rover testing sessions.
In July 2021, Team DIANA joined the PoliTOmoon project—comprising several groups and teams from the Polytechnic University of Turin—to participate in a call issued by the European Space Agency (ESA): the ESA-ESRIC Space Resources Challenge. In November 2021, the team traveled to the Netherlands for an on-field demonstration as part of the competition.
In recent years, in addition to the activities mentioned above, thanks to financial support from the Polytechnic University and sponsors, as well as the guidance of professors, the team has carried out the ARDITO rover project from preliminary development to prototyping and testing. ARDITO was presented at the European Rover Challenge in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, where the team achieved the best result ever obtained by an Italian team in the ERC competition, securing an outstanding fourth place. Most importantly, the new FORTUNA project has demonstrated significant potential to achieve even greater results.
During the 2024–2025 academic year, Team DIANA also actively participated in Biennale Tecnologia 2024, exhibiting its latest prototype in Piazza San Carlo, and in the Space Festival—an event promoted by the Piedmont Region—where the team had the opportunity to present its history at Cinema Lux in Turin alongside industry experts and Italian astronauts.
In 2025, the team completed the FORTUNA rover project and brought it to competition in Poland. During 2026, the rover will undergo minor updates and improvements with the goal of achieving even better performance at the University Rover Challenge 2026 in Utah (USA). If selected to compete, DIANA would become the first Italian team to participate in the competition.
The ARDITO project also led to several scientific publications: one presented in Paris at the 2022 International Astronautical Congress (IAC), two presented in Baku (Azerbaijan) at the 2023 IAC, one presented in Milan at the 2024 IAC, and six accepted and presented at the 2025 IAC in Sydney (Australia). In addition, the team secured third place in a competition organized by AIDAA, third place in the T-TeC competition organized by Telespazio among more than 130 international proposals, and achieved publication in Leonardo’s internal magazine.