The celebrations for National Space Day 2025, organized by the Permanent Representation of Italy in Paris, kicked off on December 3 with the conference “Earth observation from space for the protection of our Planet,” hosted at the prestigious University of Paris 1 Sorbonne Panthéon.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Luca Sabbatucci highlighted the significant growth of the Italian space sector and recalled the success of the ESA Ministerial Council held in Bremen the previous week under the Italian Presidency. He emphasized that “this will be remembered for the largest contribution in ESA’s history, over €22 billion. Italy has confirmed its position among the top three contributors, consistently investing in all programs aimed at confirming and consolidating our country’s role in the most strategic sectors of space activity. Among these, Earth observation is certainly one of our top priorities.”
In her speech, Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA, emphasized the crucial role of satellite observations in helping address the challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, and the consequences for the weather, the economy, and our security. She noted that ESA operates a large fleet of satellites, both for its own programmes and in collaboration with other international bodies. As a testament to Europe’s commitment and excellence, Earth observation was the application sector most endorsed by ESA Member State Ministers at the last Ministerial Meeting. Among the contributions from representatives of the Italian space ecosystem,
Massimo Claudio Comparini, Managing Director of Leonardo’s Space Division, highlighted, “Earth observation is a strategic pillar for understanding the evolution of our planet and developing effective responses to major environmental and security challenges. Leonardo, together with the joint ventures Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space, and e-GEOS, thanks to its recognized leadership and ability to lead a national industrial supply chain of excellence, is making a decisive contribution to this goal, integrating advanced digital technologies—from artificial intelligence to supercomputing—to transform satellite data into knowledge, services, and value for the country and Europe.”
A roundtable discussion followed, bringing together Francesco Longo, head of Earth observation for ASI; Milena Lerario, CEO of e-Geos (20% ASI, 80% Telespazio – Leonardo Group); Giampiero di Paolo, CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italia (67% Thales, 33% Leonardo); and Andrea Taramelli, professor at IUSS Pavia. They further highlighted how the close synergy between institutions, research, users, and industry optimizes the use of space data in the various contexts of climate and environmental crises, making Italy a leader in a strategic sector for our societies.
The event was attended by a large and diverse audience, including diplomats, ESA and OECD officials, academics, industrialists, and students from the Sorbonne and Italian schools in Paris. Also presented was the multimedia project “Along the Current,” by Lorenzo Colantoni, which recounts his journey from the Azores to Svalbard to document the effects of climate change through photographs and satellite images. The project will be exhibited at the OECD headquarters and subsequently at the Sorbonne until the end of January.
