Minister Terzi sent a letter to the US Secretary of State today expressing his “deepest congratulations for today’s landing on the red planet of the NASA space rover Curiosity”: “A triumph”, Terzi asserted, “that marks an extraordinary moment in the progress of our planet”.
“A few hours ago”, Terzi continued, “with hope and trepidation I followed the landing operations along with millions of other Italians and citizens of the world. It was truly moving to see the first images of Mars recorded by the cameras of the Curiosity”.
The rover’s mission to Mars is of fundamental importance to the entire international scientific community, and is the first opportunity to date to study the complex history of Mars and its geological structure.
This exceptional result opens new frontiers for the scientific world and once again bears witness to the extraordinary level of achievement and technological capability of the scientists and engineers of NASA.
“The Italian Space Agency (ASI) has a long tradition of cooperation with NASA. Charles Bolden is a great friend of Italy’s, and during my mandate in Washington we had more than one occasion on which to explore the possibility of expanding that collaboration; a recent visit to Rome by NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver further intensified existing ties. Italy is also represented on this mission: I learned with great satisfaction that Curiosity carried a chip to Mars containing Leonardo da Vinci’s self-portrait and his celebrated flight code”.