What Leonardo will do for Artemis, all the details on the Italy-USA agreement
On 25 September Italy signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States which will see our country among the partners of the Artemis program, which aims to bring man back to the moon for 2024. The role of Leonardo and Thales Alenia Space
"We will see you on the Moon soon". Thus greeted Riccardo Fraccaro, Undersecretary of State to the Prime Minister with responsibility for space policies, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine after the signing of the agreement between Italy and the US on the Artemis mission.
On September 25, Italy signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States that will see our country among the partners of the Artemis program, which aims to bring mankind back to the moon for 2024.
"The declaration of intent we sign is the recognition of our scientific and manufacturing excellence", said Fraccaro, "and our contribution will be up to par".
The president of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Giorgio Saccoccia, also expressed "great satisfaction" with the agreement.
The agreement establishes the Joint Statement for Cooperation in Space Exploration signed by NASA and ASI last October in Washington . Italy is the first European country to reach this agreement with NASA.
Also this week, the US space agency formally unveiled its $ 28 billion plan to return to the moon by 2024.
THE UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN ITALY AND THE UNITED STATES
The Declaration of Intent signed by Undersecretary Fraccaro and the administrator of the US space agency Bridenstine "confirms the historic friendship between the two countries and the long tradition of bilateral cooperation between the Italian space agency and NASA". "The United States has historically been our point of reference for a sector that will be increasingly strategic for the competitiveness, growth and well-being of the States".
It also "paves the way for Italy's strong presence in the Artemis program," said Riccardo Fraccaro.
The agreement signed with the United States will give us the opportunity to participate in the Artemis mission to the Moon: it is a huge opportunity for Italy. With today's signing we are helping to write a new page in the history of space exploration. https://t.co/NE5agmey72 pic.twitter.com/obqBHUc0EA
– Riccardo Fraccaro (@riccardo_fra) September 25, 2020
THE ARTEMIS PROGRAM
On September 21, the US space agency formally unveiled its $ 28 billion plan to return to the moon by 2024.
As part of its Artemis program, NASA plans to send the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024 and establish a sustainable presence there by the end of the decade.
Artemis therefore represents the next step in human exploration and is a part of NASA's wider Moon to Mars strategy. Specifically, NASA's lunar operations will provide the Agency with the experience and knowledge needed to enable a human mission to Mars.
BRIDENSTINE: "THIS PARTNERSHIP WILL EXTEND TO COOPERATION IN THE NEXT PHASE"
“The signature represents the latest chapter of a successful cooperation between the United States and Italy in the area of space exploration”. Nasa Bridenstine number one declared. "The strong support of the Italian government for Artemis ensures that this partnership will extend to cooperation in the next phase of exploration on the lunar surface."
THE PARADIGM OF THE NEW SPACE ECONOMY
Artemis is “a mission based not only on mutual esteem, but also on an innovative approach, on a new paradigm, what is called the New Space Economy. The goal is to expand the market to commercial operators, not only in space, but to create a driving force that will increase the growth of both countries ". Fraccaro concluded.
THE ITALIAN CONTRIBUTION
The Italian contribution to the Artemis Program, which will be detailed with subsequent Implementation Agreements between ASI and NASA, will concern the supply of housing modules for the crew, the conduct of scientific experiments and investigations on the lunar surface and the provision of telecommunication through surface resources and lunar orbital constellations.
PROVIDERS
THE EFFECTS FOR THE ITALIAN INDUSTRY ACCORDING TO LEONARDO
The historic agreement signed between Italy and the United States "potentially amounts to about one billion euros for the national industry", Alessandro Profumo, CEO of the defense and aerospace giant Leonardo, declared in a statement. Stressing that "these are the estimates of the economic impact in the short and medium term of the Joint Statement".
According to Profumo, “our country, in addition to the extremely important contribution on a technical and scientific level, will provide the lunar mission with the technological contribution necessary for the construction of the moon landing systems (lander) and the construction of further habitable surface modules (shelters). From the cooperation with the USA, therefore, for Italy there will also be a direct industrial return worth more than one billion euros, without counting all the positive effects for the supply chain and the related space ".
The Italian space industry currently employs 8,000 workers, of which 5,000 in Leonardo, and generates an annual turnover of around 2 billion euros.
THE POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS ACCORDING TO THALES ALENIA SPACE
Among the possible contributions that Italy may make to lunar exploration, the CEO of Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between the French Thales (67%) and the Italian Leonardo (33%), Massimo Comparini, indicated the "New generation of habitable pressurized elements, such as the first surface habitat or the cabin that will make astronauts land on the moon".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/cosa-fara-leonardo-per-artemis-tutti-i-dettagli-sullintesa-italia-usa/ on Sun, 27 Sep 2020 14:03:43 +0000.