On the occasion of the 3rd National Space Day, which is celebrated throughout the world to commemorate the launch of the first Italian satellite San Marco 1, which took place on 15 December 1964, an event was organized in the Sala Italia of the Italian Embassy in Singapore.
The event was opened by the Scientific Attaché Nicola Bianchi, followed by welcome greetings from the Deputy Head of Mission Fabio Conte, who underlined how space represents an area of great potential for strengthening economic and academic relations between Italy and Singapore, hoping for greater collaboration on space between the two countries also in view of the next Executive Program scheduled for the three-year period 2026-2028.
Various videos were shown that demonstrate Italy’s commitment to the space sector, with the contribution of numerous research and technological development institutions, including ASI and ENEA, often in synergy with Italian companies such as Leonardo, Thales Alenia Space and others. It was also announced that the 75th International Astronautical Congress will be held in Milan in October 2024.
The presentation of the multimedia contents was followed by a scientific-informative seminar moderated by Lynette Tan, CEO of Space Faculty, who through her organization is committed to developing skills in the space sector, especially among young people.
The seminar entitled “Securing Earth’s Future from Space” was held by Prof. Gianmarco Radice of the Singapore Institute of Technology. The two topics addressed concern the possible future prospects for the construction of solar energy production stations on satellites orbiting around the Earth, for which feasibility studies conducted by ESA and other space agencies are underway; and the extraction of rare elements and metals from asteroids, currently being depleted on our planet. Regarding this last perspective, NASA recently launched a mission towards the large asteroid Psyche discovered in the 19th century by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasperis.
Around 50 people participated in the event, mostly experts from universities, public and private research involved in space-related activities in Singapore.
nstitutions, and specialized companies
