Vittorio Netti, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA);
Senior Project Engineer for Crew Systems, Axiom Space

Dr. Vittorio Netti is a space architect and Space systems engineer and the Associate Director of the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA) at the University of Houston. Trained as an architect in Venice and later in space architecture and aerospace engineering, he bridges human-centered design and space systems, focusing on how crews will live and work on the Moon. At SICSA he founded the XR Laboratory, where his research combines extended reality simulation with high-fidelity mockups to validate habitat design and crew operations before hardware is built. He leads the center’s human-in-the-loop testing research on lunar surface operations, studying human factors, EVA workflows, and the role of automation in surface logistics. His team has extended this validation approach to microgravity through parabolic flight testing. His design and research work covers commercial space station interiors, lunar surface infrastructure built through ISRU and additive manufacturing, surface mobility systems, robotics for in-orbit servicing, and deployable structures for spacecraft and stratospheric payloads. These efforts have been developed within NASA, ESA, and industry-sponsored programs. He has authored more than 25 scientific publications, taken part in three analog missions, and contributed to EVA test campaigns in the US and Canada. Beyond academia, he is a Senior Project Engineer for crew systems at Axiom Space and has co-founded aerospace ventures in deployable space structures and autonomous aerial systems that raised more than $12 million combined. He holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Bari, with a dissertation on lunar construction, an MS in Space Architecture from the University of Houston, and architecture degrees from IUAV University of Venice. He teaches graduate studio and thesis courses in space architecture, chairs a subcommittee of the AIAA Space Architecture Technical Committee, and serves on the AIAA Houston Section Executive Council.