The Undersecretary of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers with responsibility for Aerospace, Riccardo Fraccaro, and NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine, signed during a virtual event a Joint Declaration on bilateral collaboration within the framework of the Artemis program. The declaration paves the way for Italy’s increased participation in the program launched by the United States to return to the Moon by 2024 and develop the technologies and experience necessary to finalize a human mission to Mars.
The declaration recognizes the potential scientific and commercial benefits of the collaboration between the US and Italy and the areas in which Italy’s excellence can display its full potential.
The declaration is the most recent development of a very close collaboration between institutions and the private sector in Italy and the USA that has projected Italy among the major players in the aerospace and space economy.
“Today’s Joint Declaration – underlined Ambassador Varricchio – represents a fundamental step in the relations between Italy and the United States in the space sector, in the era of the “space economy. The last twenty years – continued the Ambassador – have been characterized by the very close relationship between Space Shuttle and transport logistics, with the creation of “pressurized logistics modules” by Italian manufacturers. Looking to the next twenty years, Italy now presents itself as an irreplaceable partner in logistics and interplanetary transportation: this is a unique perspective for Italy’s national industry and a strategic positioning for the country.”
