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Agreement between Italy and the United States on the Artemis program for the exploration of the Moon. The declaration of intent was signed today at Palazzo Chigi by the Undersecretary of the Prime Minister responsible for space policies, Riccardo Fraccaro, in collaboration with the chief administrator of NASA, Jim Bridenstine. Italy is the first European country to sign a bilateral agreement on lunar exploration with the United States.
Fraccaro, new historical page
“Italy – has signed a historic agreement with the United States to establish cooperation on the path of space exploration that will bring man back to the Moon and, in the future, also to Mars. For us it is a great honor as well as a great opportunity, to be the first EU country to sign this agreement that will give us the opportunity to participate in the lunar mission and to have a leading role in the most ambitious space activity program ever implemented, “said Fraccaro on the sidelines of the event.
The signing of the agreement, continued Fraccaro, contributes to writing “a new page in the history of space exploration” and is one more recognition – towards the role of our country within the Artemis mission, which will bring the first woman to the Moon. and has the objective of establishing a continuous and self-sufficient presence on the lunar surface. “The undersecretary then recalled the” long history of cooperation in the space field “of Italy and the United States and pointed out that, with the agreement signed today,” the association it is also strengthened in a long-term perspective for future projects. This agreement will allow our country to express its full potential in scientific and industrial terms by participating in a mission with extremely ambitious goals that go beyond the planned moon landing for 2024 ”.
The objective, continued Fraccaro, “is in fact to use the Moon as an operational base for space exploration” and includes the development of activities for future missions that will take man to Mars. “Starting from what has already been developed for low Earth orbit and for the International Space Station, Italy – said Fraccaro – among other things will guarantee the supply of accommodation capacity for the crew on the Moon, will be able to carry out scientific experiments and provide telecommunications services through surface resources and lunar orbital constellations. Thanks to the mutual commitment of Italy and the United States, space exploration will take a new and huge step forward. It is an extraordinary opportunity for our supply chain, which can boast of a unique excellence in all sectors, from research to industry We were the third country in the world to put a satellite into orbit, we are the second ESA contributor in the exploration sector and one of the world leaders in the field of space activities. With the Joint Statute signed with the United States – concludes Fraccaro – the journey begins from Italy to the Moon “.
Saccoccia (Asi), great satisfaction
“Great satisfaction” from the president of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Giorgio Saccoccia, for the declaration of intent on NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program, signed by the Italian government and the United States.
It is an agreement, says Saccoccia in a note, which “confirms the historic friendship between the two countries and the long tradition of bilateral cooperation between ASI and NASA. With the subsequent Implementation Agreements between the two space agencies, they will be finalized in the they detail the Italian contributions to the program that will contribute to making possible the dream of a sustainable presence in orbit and on the lunar surface: from housing modules, through scientific experiments, to the telecommunications system ”.
Perfume, for Italy agreed with the US is worth a billion
“The agreement signed between Italy and the United States for cooperation in space exploration and, in particular, in the Artemis program for the return to the Moon, amounts to approximately one billion euros for the national industry.” This was indicated by the CEO of Leonardo, Alessandro Profumo, when commenting on the agreement.
“These are the estimates of the economic impact in the short and medium term of the Joint Declaration signed by the Assistant Secretary of the Presidency Riccardo Fraccaro with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine,” says Profumo. He explains: “Our country, in addition to the very important contribution at the technical and scientific level, will provide the lunar mission with the technological contribution necessary for the construction of the lunar landing systems (landing) and the construction of additional habitable surface modules (shelters). From the cooperation with the US, therefore, for Italy there will also be a direct industrial return worth more than one billion euros, not counting all the positive effects for the supply chain and related space ”.
Then, on twitter, the general director of the aerospace, defense and security company expressed his “congratulations to Riccardo Fraccaro and Jim Bridenstine for the recently signed cooperation agreement between Italy and the United States”, adding: great countries united a once again for a great scientific, technological and human challenge ”.
