Her research interest is the study of the origin of the Solar System, including how it was formed and which physical processes were responsible for the actual conditions. More precisely, she is interested in the small objects orbiting in the outer part of the Solar System, those called trans-Neptunian objects. She is an expert in the use of photometric techniques to analyze the rotational light curves of these objects. Through this technique, different physical parameters, such as rotational period, and shape can be obtained. The study of rotational light-curves also allow for the detection of close-in satellites that can not be observed by direct imaging, as was the case of Varuna’s satellite. She is also very interested in the stellar occultation technique, which has been successfully used in the last few years to obtain information on the accurate size and shape of small bodies and to extract information about their interior. This technique enabled the discovery of Haumea’s ring, the first ring observed around a trans-Neptunian object. Estela was a co-author and co-discoverer of this breakthrough

Additionally, Estela used Spitzer Space Telescope date to study the surface composition of TNOs.