Open Thesis Topics at the Space Software Group - 2026

Containerizing Hyperspectral Data Pipelines

At the Space Software Group, we've built a powerful platform for hyperspectral data processing for the ERMIS mission, but to make it work at scale, we need standardized "processing units." Your mission is to define the specification for Docker containers that run on this platform. You'll be working closely with our remote sensing colleagues to take their complex algorithms and wrap them into efficient, reproducible, and portable Docker containers.

The challenge isn't just "making it run", it's about optimizing for high-throughput data, managing containers, and ensuring the interface between the platform and the container is rock-solid. To get a feel for the work and show me you're ready to dive in, I'd love for you to try this small "warm-up" before we meet:

• The Container: Create a simple Dockerfile for a Python-based processing script. It should install numpy and rasterio, and be able to read an "input" image from a mounted volume and write an "output" result. It should run correctly.
• The Spec: In a few sentences, how would you handle passing specific parameters (like a "cloud cover threshold") to your container at runtime? Environment variables? A config file?

ROS-based Control for the UGV02 Mobile Robot

The UGV02 is a rugged 6-wheel robot platform designed for off-road performance. We want to turn our 6-wheel robot into a fully functional ROS (Robot Operating System) node. The hardware setup can use a Raspberry Pi Zero as the high-level brain, which communicates via a serial port to an ESP32 slave. The ESP32 handles the low-level motor PWM, sensors etc.

• UGV02 Robot

Your mission is to build the ROS system to control the robot. If this sounds like your kind of project, first please confirm that you have a working environment and understand ROS before you contact me. Install ROS 2 (Humble or Iron) on your laptop or in a Linux Virtual Machine (Ubuntu 22.04 is recommended) and run the tutorials.

LoRa & Meshtastic for Remote Telemetry

We often need to move data over long distances with very little power. LoRa is the industry standard for this, and Meshtastic is a brilliant open-source mesh networking protocol built on top of it. We want to evaluate how Meshtastic can be integrated into microcontroller-based "ground segments" or remote sensor nodes to create a resilient, decentralized telemetry network. Your mission is to investigate reliability and throughput of Meshtastic on hardware like the ESP32.

• LoRa

• Meshtastic

• In a couple of sentences, what is the primary reason we would use LoRa for a remote sensor 10km away instead of a standard WiFi or 5G?

• Browse the Meshtastic supported hardware list. Pick one microcontroller from the list and briefly tell me: does it use an ESP32? Which one would you choose?

Real-Time Security Verification for Embedded Space Systems

As space hardware becomes more autonomous, it also becomes a target. A malicious command or a sensor spoofing attack could lead to what engineers call "Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly": essentially, a crash. We use R2U2 (Realizable, Responsive, Unobtrusive Unit), a flight-proven runtime verification engine, to act as a security "watchdog". R2U2 monitors system telemetry in real-time to ensure the software is behaving according to the laws of physics and mission logic, catching unauthorized state changes or "command injection" attacks.

If you like the topic, try this mini-challenge first.

• The Setup: Download the R2U2 engine and tools R2U2
• Check the paper and artifacts from the excellent Iowa State team for a head start, especially "Integrating Runtime Verification into a Sounding Rocket Control System" which is a great start paper
• Let's assume a "Security Rule" for a rocket similar to the paper: The engine must never be cut unless the system has been in the 'Boost' state for at least 5 seconds. This prevents an attacker from killing the motor immediately after liftoff.
• Specify the property in R2U2.
• Create a small test trace (a CSV file) where the engine is cut after only 2 seconds. Run R2U2 against it to see if the verification engine flags the violation.
• Send me a screenshot of your R2U2 output showing the "verdict" changing from 1 (Safe) to 0 (Security Violation).

Building an OpenStack Private Research Cloud

Our university needs scalable, software-defined infrastructure to run e.g., satellite simulations and "hardware-in-the-loop" testing for missions. You will be responsible for deploying and optimizing an OpenStack cluster on our server hardware. The objective is to move away from static servers toward a flexible environment that can spin up mission control nodes or telemetry databases on demand.

A small warm-up task:

• If you're interested in this infrastructure challenge, I'd love for you to try it our before we sit down to discuss details: Set up a single-node instance using MicroStack on a Linux VM.