News: Italian Space Agency
Headlines from space publications, linked back to the original articles
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- Italy Explores Building an Artificial Gravity Research Platform in Orbit European Spaceflight · 9 Oct 2026 The Italian Space Agency (ASI) is exploring the development of a dedicated orbital platform capable of generating artificial gravity to support scientific research and technology development. ASI announced the initiative...
- Italy Appoints Career Diplomat as Space Agency Extraordinary Commissioner European Spaceflight · 11 Aug 2026 Career diplomat Mario Cospito has been appointed extraordinary commissioner of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), taking over leadership of the agency following the death of its president, Teodoro Valente, and the dissoluti...
- ASI Board Resigns to Allow for the Appointment of an Extraordinary Commissioner European Spaceflight · 7 Aug 2026 Three members of the Italian Space Agency’s board of directors have resigned, resulting in the board’s dissolution. This clears the way for the appointment of an extraordinary commissioner to lead the agency following th...
- Italy Turns to Tall Ship to Simulate Stresses of Long-Duration Spaceflight European Spaceflight · 31 May 2026 The Italian Space Agency (ASI) has enlisted students from the country’s Naval Academy aboard a tall ship to examine how the human body responds to the stresses of long-duration spaceflight as part of its ICE-Blue initiat...
- Italy’s Lunar Habitat Clears NASA System Requirements Review European Spaceflight · 26 May 2026 The Italian Space Agency announced on 22 May that its Multi-Purpose Habitation (MPH) module had been cleared by a NASA review board to progress toward a Preliminary Design Review in 2027. The first MPH module is expected...
- Thales Alenia Space Selects US Provider to Develop Lunar Habitat Wheels European Spaceflight · 12 Mar 2026 Thales Alenia Space has awarded a contract to US-based Astrobotic to develop the wheels for the Multi-Purpose Habitation module, a mobile lunar habitat under development for the Italian Space Agency (ASI). In 2020, ASI a...
- Third COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation radar satellite enters service ramp-up SpaceDaily · 6 Jan 2026 Paris, France (SPX) Jan 06, 2026 The third satellite in the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation radar constellation has been launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a SpaceX Falcon 9 for the Italian Space A...
- Thales Alenia Space Clears Key Milestone for In-Orbit Servicing Demo European Spaceflight · 1 Nov 2025 A group of companies led by Thales Alenia Space has completed the System Preliminary Design Review for Italy’s In-Orbit Servicing (IOS) demonstration mission, funded through the government’s €191.5-billion National Recov...
- Thales Alenia Space Inaugurates New €100M Satellite Factory European Spaceflight · 10 Oct 2025 Thales Alenia Space officially inaugurated its new Space Smart Factory in Rome on 7 October, with operations expected to begin before the end of the year. In April 2023, Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thale...
- Italy Signs Agreement with SpaceX for Starship Mars Mission European Spaceflight · 7 Aug 2025 The Italian space agency, ASI, has signed an agreement with SpaceX for an uncrewed mission to Mars aboard one of the company’s Starship rockets. Announced on 7 August, the agreement includes provisions for several payloa...
- ASI Awards New Lunar Habitat Contract to Thales Alenia Space European Spaceflight · 29 Jul 2025 The Italian Space Agency has awarded Thales Alenia Space a contract for the preliminary design of its Multi-Purpose Habitat, which will serve as a base for astronauts on the lunar surface. The 25 July announcement includ...
- ASI Taps OHB to Develop Lunar Oxygen Extraction Mission European Spaceflight · 27 Jun 2025 The Italian space agency (ASI) has awarded OHB a contract to develop its ORACLE mission, which aims to validate technology for the extraction of oxygen from lunar regolith on the surface of the Moon. Work on the Oxygen R...
- NASA’s IXPE Obtains First X-ray Polarization Measurement of Magnetar Outburst NASA · 5 Jun 2025 What happens when the universe’s most magnetic object shines with the power of 1000 Suns in a matter of seconds? Thanks to NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer), a mission in collaboration with ASI (Italian Sp...
- Italy Moves Ahead With Study for National IRIS2 Alternative European Spaceflight · 14 Apr 2025 The Italian government has approved Phase 2 of a feasibility study exploring the possibility of the country developing an alternative to the IRIS2 secure communications constellation. In late 2024, the Interministerial C...
- NASA Successfully Acquires GPS Signals on Moon NASA · 4 Mar 2025 NASA and the Italian Space Agency made history on March 3, when the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) became the first technology demonstration to acquire and track Earth-based navigation signals on the Moon’s surfa...
- Italy’s CubeSat Mission to a Martian Moon Enters Phase B Development European Spaceflight · 18 Feb 2025 Italian space agency ASI has announced that its CubeSat mission to the Martian moon Deimos has entered Phase B, marking the commencement of preliminary design work for both the orbiter and lander. The Terrain Analyzer an...
- NASA and Italian Space Agency Test Future Lunar Navigation Technology NASA · 10 Jan 2025 As NASA celebrates 55 years since the historic Apollo 11 crewed lunar landing, the agency also is preparing new navigation and positioning technology for the Artemis campaign, the agency’s modern lunar exploration progra...
- Italian Court Greenlights Construction of First ESA FlyEye Observatory European Spaceflight · 25 Sep 2024 An Italian court has given the green light to ESA and ASI to continue the construction of the first FlyEye observatory, rejecting an appeal by environmental associations. In late 2018, the European Space Agency (ESA) sig...
- NASA Greenlights Next Phase of Italian Lunar Habitat Project European Spaceflight · 20 Sep 2024 A NASA review board has given the Italian space agency the green light to move ahead with the development of its MPH lunar surface habitat. ASI and NASA signed an agreement in 2022 that saw the Italian space agency take...
- Thales Program Manager Shares Italian Lunar Habitat Details European Spaceflight · 24 Aug 2024 Thales Alenia Space Multi-Purpose Habitation module programme manager Nicola Genco has shared several key details about the planned first permanent human presence on the Moon. In 2022, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) sign...
- Glimpses of Hera’s target asteroids inspire new science ESA · 31 Jul 2024 As ESA’s Hera mission for planetary defence completes its pre-launch testing, its target bodies have come into focus as tiny worldlets of their own. A special issue of Nature Communications published this week presents s...
- Italy’s Lunar Surface Habitat Passes Key Milestone European Spaceflight · 26 Jul 2024 The Italian Space Agency announced 25 July that its lunar surface Multi-Purpose Habitation module has passed a mission definition review. In late 2022, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) signed an agreement with NASA to coop...
- Italy in Space: Setting New Records for Electric Propulsion in Routine Operations SpaceNews · 7 Mar 2024 On December 1, 2023 at 6:19 PM (UTC), the first Italian all-electric satellite “MicroHETSat”, designed and built by SITAEL for the European Space Agency with Italian Space Agency (ASI) support,
- Italy’s Space Agency and Armed Forces Sign Agreement to Collaborate European Spaceflight · 31 Jan 2024 Italy’s Joint Forces Operational Command (COVI) has signed an operational agreement with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for collaboration in the area of space. COVI was established in 1998 as a mechanism to allow the cou...
- ASI Signs Contract for Lunar Robotic Mission Simulation and Control Centre European Spaceflight · 27 Dec 2023 The Italian space agency ASI has signed a €3.5 million contract with ALTEC for the initial design and construction phase of the Centro di Simulazione e Controllo Missioni Robotiche Lunari (Lunar Robotic Mission Simulatio...
- ASI Seeks Commercial Operator for Lunar Oxygen Extraction Mission European Spaceflight · 29 Nov 2023 The Italian Space Agency (ASI) has launched a market research notice to gauge the interest of commercial operators in running the agency’s lunar regolith oxygen extraction mission. Even with the potential for affordable...
- ASI Awards Contract to Continue Development of Moon Base European Spaceflight · 24 Nov 2023 Thales Alenia Space has been awarded an Italian Space Agency (ASI) contract to continue the development of its Multi-Purpose Habitat, which the agency hopes will be the first permanent outpost on the Moon. In September 2...
- ASI Signs Phase A Study Contract for INNOVATOR CubeSat Mission European Spaceflight · 13 Oct 2023 The Italian Space Agency ASI has signed a contract with an industrial team to begin the Phase A study for its INNOVATOR CubeSat mission that will study gravitational and atmospheric science. The INNOVATOR (INtersatellite...
- ASI to Tap European Startup to Launch Lunar Regolith Oxygen Extractor Mission European Spaceflight · 27 Jul 2023 The Italian Space Agency (ASI) announced July 26 that it had signed an agreement with Politecnico di Milano to begin the development of the agency’s Oxygen Retrieval Asset by Carbothermal-reduction in Lunar Environment (...
- Italy Appoints New President of its National Space Agency European Spaceflight · 30 May 2023 Italy’s Committee for Aerospace Policies met 29 May to approve the appointment of both the new president and the new board of directors for the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The committee was chaired by Minister for Enterp...
- Italian satellite may fly NASA Earth science payload SpaceNews · 6 Aug 2022 NASA is in talks with the Italian Space Agency to fly an Earth science instrument originally planned to go on a commercial smallsat.
- NASA, Partner Agency Leaders to Talk to Space Station Astronauts NASA · 15 Jun 2022 NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Italian Space Agency (ASI) President Giorgio Saccoccia, and leadership from the U.S. Embassy in Rome will speak with astronauts aboard the International Sp...
- Falcon 9 finally launches with Italian CSG-2 Earth observation satellite NASASpaceflight · 31 Jan 2022 The Italian Space Agency’s CSG-2 mission, the second satellite in its COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation constellation, finally launched liftoff Monday at 6:11 PM EST (23:11 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40). The mi...
- Launch of Italian radar satellite shifts from Arianespace to SpaceX Spaceflight Now · 5 Oct 2021 The Italian Space Agency says it has booked a launch with SpaceX as soon as November for a COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation radar remote sensing satellite, shifting the spacecraft from a European Vega C rocket to a Falcon...
- Italian Space Agency head dismissed SpaceNews · 12 Nov 2018