National Institute for Astrophysics

The National Institute for Astrophysics (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, or INAF) is an Italian research institute in astronomy and astrophysics, founded in 1999. INAF funds and operates twenty separate research facilities, which in turn employ scientists, engineers and technical staff. The research they perform covers most areas of astronomy, ranging from planetary science to cosmology.

Research facilities
INAF coordinates the activities of twenty research units, nineteen in Italy and one in Spain:
 * Bologna Observatory
 * Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Bologna
 * Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna
 * Cagliari Observatory
 * Catania Observatory
 * Arcetri Observatory (Florence)
 * Brera Observatory (Milan)
 * Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Milano
 * Capodimonte Observatory (Naples)
 * Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
 * Palermo Observatory
 * Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Palermo
 * Rome Observatory
 * Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Roma
 * Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario di Roma
 * Collurania-Teramo Observatory
 * Turin Observatory
 * Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario di Torino
 * Trieste Observatory
 * Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (Canary Islands, Spain)
 * Sardinia Radio Telescope (San Basilio, Sardinia)
 * Noto Radio Observatory (Noto, Sicily)

International partnerships
INAF is involved in scientific collaborations with several international institutions, including:
 * the European Southern Observatory (Italy has been an ESO member since 1982)
 * the astronomical observatories located in Canary Islands (Teide Observatory and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory)
 * the Large Binocular Telescope, in partnership with the United States and Germany
 * the Very Long Baseline Interferometry consortium
 * the European Space Agency (ESA)
 * the American National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA)

Notable figures

 * Giampaolo Vettolani, scientific director
 * Stefano Cristiani, board member
 * Nicolò D'Amico, president in 2015-2020

Projects
Projects include:
 * Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies, instrument for the ExoMars rover Rosalind Franklin
 * Rapid Eye Mount telescope (REM)
 * Juno's JIRAM