TERRITORIO E VITA DALLO SPAZIO
A cura di ENZO LO SCALZO [ loscalzo.web@asa-press.com ]


Dallo spazio allo spazio…

Scrive il 20 maggio Marlene Cristofoli, dall’Aja:

“A titolo di curiosità, abbiamo un astronauta italiana: Samantha Cristoforetti, italiana, Alexander Gerst, tedesco, Andreas Mogensen, danese, Luca Parmitano, italiano, Timothy Peake, inglese, Thomas Pesquet, francese: sono questi i nomi dei sei nuovi astronauti dell’Agenzia Spaziale Europea (ESA), presentati oggi a Parigi nel corso di una conferenza stampa presieduta dal Direttore generale dell’ESA, Jean-Jaques Dordain, e dalla responsabile ESA per lo Human Spaceflight, Simonetta di Pippo.
Riguardo le opportunità di volo, la vita della ISS sarà estesa al 2020 e «l’ESA ha sette voli garantiti.”

Marlene, capo del servizio PR dell’ufficio brevetti europeo, è moglie anche del capo divisione delle ricerche sulla ISS, amico di tanti anni, senior megadirigente al centro sperimentale ESA in Olanda.

La lettera d’informazione ESA è più precisa, come si conviene, ma senza fotografia, per cui mi viene buona l’immagine di Marlene. Lascio il testo in originale perché possa essere ripreso per la newsletter ASA internazionale e perché questa rubrica richiede spesso la conoscenza dell’inglese. La nostra giovane Samantha Cristoforetti sarà la prima astronauta italiana ed in assoluto la prima astronauta di genere femminile della squadra ESA. Trentuno anni, il tenente Samantha Cristoforetti è una “top gun” dell'Aeronautica militare. Insieme a un collega, il capitano Luca Parmitano, sarà in compagnia di madre lingua! ASI (l’agenzia italiana spaziale) ha giocato bene le sue carte con Simonetta Di Pippo, ESA Director of Human Spaceflight ma anche con una “star” carina e intelligente: a lei i migliori auguri di felice futuro spaziale!
E.LS

No.12-2009 ˆ Paris, 20 May 2009

ESA prepares for the next generation of human spaceflight and exploration by recruiting a new class of European astronauts ESA today presented the six individuals who will become Europe's new astronauts. The new recruits will join the European Astronaut Corps and start their training to prepare for future missions to the International Space Station, and beyond.

The new astronauts are:
1. Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian
2. Alexander Gerst, German
3. Andreas Mogensen, Danish
4. Luca Parmitano, Italian
5. Timothy Peake, British
6. Thomas Pesquet, French

They were selected following a Europe-wide recruitment process that started last year. Following thorough psychological, medical and professional screening that started with 8413 valid applications, they are the first new recruits to join the European Astronaut Corps since 1992 under this second-ever astronaut selection carried out by ESA. The choice of six was made taking into account flight opportunities planned not only under ESA programmes and activities but also those planned in the frame of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and NASA. This (deleted all) was done in agreement with the Italian authorities and in accordance with the ESA Council decision in 2002 to create a single corps of astronauts in Europe.

"We are at a turning point in ESA's human spaceflight activities. Last year, with the launch of the Columbus laboratory and the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle, ESA became a fully-fledged member of the International Space Station partnership. We are now entering a new phase of utilisation of the unique capabilities offered by the ISS and preparation for international exploration of the Moon and beyond," said ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain.

"This new phase required the recruitment of young talent able to draw on the experience gained by the existing astronauts, able to become, step by step, the representatives of Europe in space who, together with their international colleagues, will live, work, explore and bring back to planet Earth and its citizens their unique experience, their accomplishments and their confidence in the future. They all represent the generation that will move from low earth orbit to the Moon," Dordain added.

"I am very proud of the result achieved with this selection," said Simonetta Di Pippo, ESA Director of Human Spaceflight. "Proud, as a European, of the calibre of the candidates, proud of the organisational efforts made by ESA and in particular by the European Astronaut Centre. This result exceeds our greatest expectations. Not only do we have a group of outstanding astronauts; we also have a representation of European countries that reinforces the support for human spaceflight and exploration in Europe." She added: "With the ISS lifetime being considered for an extension to 2020 and beyond, I believe today's selection of six new astronauts shows where Europe stands."

"This is a very important day for human spaceflight in Europe," continued Di Pippo. "These young men and women are the next generation of European space explorers. They have a fantastic career ahead, which will put them right on top of one of the ultimate challenges of our time: going back to the Moon and beyond as part of the global exploration effort."

Europe's new astronauts will start their basic training at the European Astronaut Centre (ESA-EAC) in Cologne, Germany. With ESA's ISS partners also having completed or currently finalising their own recruitment campaigns, they will also join a new class of international astronauts who will be prepared for future space missions to the International Space Station from 2013 onwards.

For further information:

ESA Media Relations Office
Communication and Knowledge Department
Phone + 33 1 5369 7299
Fax. + 33 1 5369 7690
Queries: Media@esa.int

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