Feb. 22 – Luca Parmitano, the sixth Italian astronaut, is preparing for take off to the International Space Station (ISS), scheduled in May for the “Volare” mission. The astronaut is in Italy before beginning the final phase of his training. During his tenure, Parmitano has had and will have many appointments, especially with students from the National Boarding Schools in Rome, Naples and Turin, to report his next adventure into space. “Parmitano – said in a statement the Italian Space Agency – is the first of a new generation of ESA (European Space Agency) astronauts to be assigned to a mission on the ISS and he is also a major of the Italian Air Force. The new space mission will aim to promote the future of space exploration in Europe and the role that Europe has on the station through ESA. It will be the first long-term trip for the Italian Space Agency: Parmitano will be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome next May and will remain on the ISS for about six months.” During the mission, Parmitano will be engaged in more than 20 scientific experiments for ESA and ISA, many of which are based on Italian know-how, plus he will follow the ISS extensive and experimentation activities, put forth by the Nasa office.
