The Italian Embassy in France and the Permanent Representative of Italy to the International Organisations in Paris organised a joint conference on the occasion of the National Space Day, event promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Diplomatic Network. The event, held at the Embassy, aimed to discuss Italian-French bilateral and multilateral cooperation with sectoral International Organisations, and was attended by experts, scholars, representatives of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and the European Space Agency (ESA), with headquarters in Paris, and industrial sectoral players from both countries.
Opening the conference, Ambassador D’Alessandro recalled Italy’s commitment to space exploration ever since the launch into orbit, in 1964, of the first Italian San Marco satellite. More specifically, the Italian-French bilateral partnership in this sector constitutes an excellence at the European level, contributing directly and substantially to the achievement of the European Union’s strategic autonomy in the sector, as also provided for in Article 7 of the Quirinal Treaty.
Ambassador Sabbatucci highlighted the strategic role that Italy plays in the European framework. The ESA is in fact the epicentre of Italian interests in space. Our country is among the agency’s top three contributors, along with Germany and France, the first for optional programmes.
During the conference, there were several in-depth discussions dedicated to cooperation in various strategic areas for Italy. First, the science of the universe, with a special focus on the EUCLID mission for the study of matter and dark energy in the universe: a jewel of ESA’s mission that boasts a significant scientific and technological contribution from Italy and France, as illustrated by the representatives from ASI, INAF (Italian National Institute for Astrophysics) and CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission). Also at the centre of the discussions was the Italian-French industrial partnership. Moreover, the focus was also on the Italian-French industrial partnership, thanks to the intervention of representatives from Leonardo, Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio. Finally, great prominence was given to Italy’s role in the ESA, a topic addressed by the Agency’s Director General, Josef Aschbacher.
The meeting was closed by Italian astronaut Anthea Comellini, selected as a member of the ESA Astronaut Reserve. At the end of the conference, the event participants tasted the “space menu”, composed of the meals that will be served to ESA astronauts on their next space exploration missions, thanks to the collaboration with EAT Freedom, an Italian start-up specialising in the preparation of gourmet meals for athletes and astronauts.
