Mr. Marco Salmaso is an Italian aerospace engineer who graduated from Rice University, Houston, Texas, with a Professional Master of Science in Space Studies (2024), attending as a recipient of the Fulbright scholarship, one of the oldest and most prestigious cultural exchange programs in the world. Funded by NASA and supported by the Fulbright Program, his current research at the Rice Space Institute focuses on novel methodologies and emerging assets to determine the optimal architecture for sustainable lunar exploration, guiding the progress of future Artemis Missions and commercial space endeavors. This work will be presented at the 2025 AIAA SciTech Forum, with publication in Aerospace Research Central (ARC) by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). A U.S. national competition winner and laureate of the NASA L'SPACE Program, he received a NASA fellowship award and was honored by the Chief Technologist of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center for his project's innovation and potential to contribute critical advancements in the field.

During his academic career, he led a cross-functional interdisciplinary team as Project Manager for OwlSat, a student-driven initiative to design and develop Rice University’s first-ever CubeSat, and served as President of the Space Studies program’s Student Committee. Prior to this, he completed the PE Exam (Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical disciplines) to become licensed as a Professional Engineer, after obtaining his Bachelor of Science (2018) and Master of Science (2022) in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Padua, Italy. He also holds a Master of Music in Piano (2020) from the Conservatory of Music of Rovigo, Italy.

Passionate about continual learning and embracing new challenges, he aspires to make a significant contribution to the global space community and deliver effective solutions for the space industry of the future.