Europe must “raise the bar on its ambition” to try to gain greater autonomy in human access to space, both on the issue of economic growth and geopolitical standing on the international stage. This is what Samantha Cristoforetti, ESA astronaut, said at the ceremony held at Palazzo Clerici for the awarding of the ISPI 2022 Prize jointly with Fabiola Gianotti, Director General of CERN, for the contribution made to the promotion of Italy’s image in the world.
In her speech, AstroSamantha emphasized how the emergence of individuals in the field of human spaceflight represented a “historic change.” In the past 20 years, “astronauts have never had to cut a check to buy flights, which, like Italy and Europe, have instead been made use of contributions made to the ISS program.”
Today, however, with the possibility that the intergovernmental program for the International Space Station will end in 2030 and new private space stations will appear, “we risk going back 20 years, when, like Italy, we also had to buy flights. It is therefore, no It’s about raising the level of ambition to have more autonomous access to space? Do we want to stay travelers or do we want to start being champions?”, Cristoforetti asks, emphasizing the gap that separates Europe from other world powers that already have independent access to space (such as the United States and Russia) or build it (such as China and India).
“An ambitious program of human space exploration could be a game-changer not only for astronaut flights, but for the broader impact it can have in terms of peace, security, cooperation, prosperity, industrial capacity, and inspiring young people.”
Also on the space economy, AstroSam notes that “Europe is not in a terrible state, but it is taking a lot of risks: the market is growing rapidly and the risks are that we will only be left with crumbs.”
© Reproduction Reserved
“Infuriatingly humble social media buff. Twitter advocate. Writer. Internet nerd.”
