The meeting took place on Thursday, April 17, at the headquarters of the Italian Space Agency in Rome. This is the question asked by a student of the “Giulio Douhet” Military Air Force School, who on Thursday, April 17, participated in the conference held in support of the Schools.
the Italian Space Agency In Rome, to the crew of Expedition 36: Major Luca Parmitano, the Russian commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and the American Karen Nyberg. Present at the event were students of all ages, from the youngest elementary school students to high school and university students, who, after an explanatory video of the mission presented by Major Parmitano, asked questions and expressed their curiosity about the crew. It is Russian commander Yurchikhin, from his experience of having spent 4 “journeys in space” to answer the question of the young student of Douhet:“
Be dreamers but concrete; abandon the fantastic ideas of teleportation and other television fantasies; instead, we must focus on the path we have taken, that of small steps forward that are still being taken today.”. The chief pilot of the Air Force and Italian astronaut, during his speech, was able to inspire and share the dream of flight. A dream he has nurtured since he was a little boy and that he managed to realize through his career in the Air Force until becoming an astronaut. He also wanted to convey the desire to pursue this dream to young people, bringing his testimony, as he did with the astronaut Maurizio Cheli when he himself attended the Academy, “
because among you – said Parmitano –
Someone could follow in my footsteps and go further.”. From the first flight of Gagarin, which lasted less than two hours, in which he was asked simple questions, when it was still not known if he could eat and drink, to the discovery of the Moon and to surviving in space, to spending months around Earth aboard the International Space Station, to perhaps one day touching the red soil of Mars, “
and maybe – continued the Major Parmitano –
It will be you guys here who will take that step”. Havoluto emphasizes and expresses pride in being an Italian, highlighting that 40% of the orbiting space station is Italian, including the Dome from which the astronauts can take a look at the universe. “
We are part of a larger system that is Europe, and this part is becoming increasingly larger.”.
With enthusiasm, the students of Douhet have seized this opportunity, which forms part of the School’s comprehensive project for educational growth, which also includes the development of the “
zerorobotics”A competition in the programming of aerospace robots, namely artificial satellites, created by MIT and used within the International Space Station.
See the photos on the ASI website
