on an equal footing in the club of the great powers

Thirty years to celebrate recalling that, primacy in primacy, thanks to the Italian Space Agency our country deals on an equal footing with the United States, Russia, Germany, Japan and China on rockets, satellites, astronauts and missions looking for traces of life on comets and Mars. And sometimes you can even afford to stand out in this small club of great powers. This does not happen in many other scenarios

Not to mention (never) that in 1964 Asi was not born yet, but even then the basics were being laid when Italy sent the satellite into orbit San Marco 1 from the scientist Luigi Broglio to whom today is dedicated the auditorium of the office of Tor Vergata . Until then, only the United States and (later) Urss had succeeded. And today, more than 8,000 highly skilled people work in the growing aerospace sector for nearly 2 billion euros, a source of continuous innovations for our daily activities.

The end goal may be March but for a long time The way to get there has to be solved many problems that, meanwhile, improve our lives.

The Italian Space Agency celebrated its 30th anniversary among important scientific and technological achievements and the consolidation of the economy generated by the space activities that beat the record, this year, a global business figure of $ 350 billion. In the auditorium of the ASI, at the headquarters of the Tor Vergata Agency, the president Roberto Battiston and the Dg Anna Sirica have traced these first 30 years of triumphal success. It was May 30, 1988, when Law No. 186 was formally established, the national government which, under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, began to embody the Italian interests and skills in the aerospace sector. That is why, to bring a toast to Tor Vergata, there will also be the new owner of the Miur, Marco Bussetti.

BATTISTON
"A solid house is built with solid foundations.The 30 years of ASI experience are just: the solid foundation of something that projects us towards the future ". Thus, the president of the Italian Space Agency, Roberto Battiston Oggi, stressed the scientist of Trentino for his second term in Tor Vergata, "the space has added to the scientific objectives also solid objectives of economic nature. It's a new dimension that we are still learning to exploit. " Battiston then noted that over the 2014-2016 period, Asi had 650 new employees, including the turnover, and among these "66% are graduates, 7% have a Ph.D. % have a master's degree. Space activities, also reported the number one of the ASI, have brought important economic returns to the country. According to the estimates of the European Commission, indeed, for every euro invested in space there are 7 euros of economic benefits

THE FUTURE
The first landing of a European rover on Mars with Exomars 2020, equipped with an Italian forest for the search of life, the first European mission on Mercury, BepiColombo, which will be launched in autumn 2018 and from 39, a new observatory of gravitational waves chasing from space, planned for the next 20 years. These are some of the future projects of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) the day she celebrates her first 30 years.

AVIO
"The return to Italy in the space sector between 2014 and 2017 is 4%, or 276 million euros," said Roberto Battiston, president of ASI. "30 years after its creation, ASI has carved out a leading position in space science, in satellite technologies with Cosmo SkyMed and in the exploration of the universe" , he added. "Just think of the 7 Italian astronauts (next year Luca Parmitano will return to the ISS), to the Cbadini mission on Saturn, with which the ASI was operating on a par with NASA and the ## 148 ## 39 European Space Agency (ESA), at the station Spaziale Internazionale (Iss), half manufactured in Italy, or the Vega launcher and the stock exchange listing of the company that manufactures it, the Avio "

PROFUMO
The Italian industry plays a central role in space economics, "one of the most growing sectors – concluded Alessandro Profumo of Leonardo, who will be 70 years – thanks to a wealth of expertise of excellence in Europe ".

THE FIRST "SPACE" FUND
A venture capital fund to support Italian space activities. This was announced by Battiston. "In a sector of rapid development, full of ideas and initiatives, technologies and innovation, a tool to attract investment is that of venture capital, a financial instrument less used in Europe only in the United States where it is the basic instrument for the progress of industrial activity. "The new Italian venture capital fund dedicated to the space disposes of A budget of about 80 million euros, of which 30% will be based on private capital, "said Battiston.With these financial tools, we want to intercept new ideas and new projects, adds Battiston.

THE FIERA DELLO SPAZIO
It will be held in November 2019 at the Fiera di Roma, and it will be the first major exhibition on the market of the space economy: "We do not think of big exhibitions like those that already exist on the aerospace but that characterizes space economics and also the contributions of economists, "says Battiston, recalling the launch of the Bocconi SEE laboratory Asi participates

THE GOVERNMENT
" The new executive pays close attention to the space sector ". That's what the admiral of the squadron Carlo Mbadagli military advisor for the presidency of the Council said. Mbadagli, who in Tor Vergata conveyed the greetings of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to the ASI, confirmed that "the interministerial committee" set up last January with the law on the reform of Italian space governance will be activated very soon. "The government is already working on it," he said, highlighting the change in the framework. It is, reminded Mbadagli, "of a high-level badembly, composed of 10 ministries, the presidency of the Conference of Presidents of Regions and the Italian Space Agency".