  We report the results of a study aimed at inferring direct information on the
repulsive three-nucleon potential $V^R_{ijk}$\textemdash driving the stiffness
of the nuclear matter equation of state at supranuclear densities\textemdash
from astrophysical observations. Using a Bayesian approach, we exploit the
measurements of masses, radii and tidal deformabalities performed by the NICER
satellite and the LIGO/Virgo collaboration, as well as the mass of the heaviest
observed pulsar, to constrain the strength of $V^R_{ijk}$. The baseline of our
analysis is the widely employed nuclear Hamiltonian comprising the Argonne
$v_{18}$ nucleon-nucleon potential andthe Urbana IX model of three-nucleon
potential. The numerical results, largely determined by the bound on the
maximum mass, suggest that existing and future facilities have the potential to
provide valuable new insight into microscopic nuclear dynamics at supranuclear
densities.
