On the occasion of the conclusion of the work in Italy for the ExoMars 2022 mission, Riccardo Fraccaro, Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers with responsibility for Space, and Alessandro Profumo, CEO of Leonardo, have reached Turin for a visit to the laboratories that host the different components of the probe. Present at the visit, at the Turin plant of Thales Alenia Space, a joint-venture between Thales and Leonardo, also the Mayor of Turin Chiara Appendino, the leaders of the Italian Space Agency and local institutions, welcomed by Massimo Claudio Comparini, CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italy.
The visit provided the unique and exceptional opportunity to see as a whole the entire Spacecraft Composite of the ExoMars 2022 mission, consisting of the Carrier Module, the Landing Platform and the Rosalind Franklin rover, in its final phase of integration.
The delegation had the opportunity to visit the ISO 7 ultra-clean room, a constantly monitored environment in order to preserve the precious flight components from microbiological contamination, and where all the elements of the mission that will leave for Mars are currently present. Here in recent days, thanks to the synergistic commitment between the teams of Leonardo and Thales Alenia Space, solar panels have been integrated on Rosalind Franklin, elements capable of making the rover of the ExoMars mission survive in the extreme conditions of the red planet.
Alessandro Profumo, Leonardo's CEO commented: “From this Turin plant you feel closer to space, you can touch the high technology produced by our engineers that will travel the cosmos to unveil the mysteries of the universe. Here is the proof that Italy continues to be one of the international drivers in the space sector and that the Italian industry represents absolute excellence that supports the space ambitions of the main world agencies. Thanks also to the support of the political control room, the efforts of the Italian Space Agency and the strategies of the European Space Agency, we are present on the most important space missions to explore our solar system and to bring man to Mars, passing through the Moon. Not only that, we also look beyond, to the discovery of exoplanets, while we try to improve our planet thanks to the benefits deriving from the services offered by satellites ”.
“Today is a unique opportunity to greet all the components of the ExoMars mission up close one last time, which will depart on its journey to Mars to discover traces of present or past life forms. For Turin and Italy this mission is a source of great pride, demonstrating that the best innovative technologies for space are born from our country. This is why we have decided to bring a model of our drill to the Dubai Expo, as a symbol of the technological challenges of the industry ".
“Space has a strategic, technological and economic value for our country, as it generates innovation and technical-scientific advancements for the benefit of all citizens. It is useful to remember that the space industry is an ecosystem formed not only by large international players such as Leonardo and Thales Alenia Space, but by hundreds of SMEs essential for the success of this business. In other words, space is a great place of cooperation, without borders, where countries, institutions, large industries and SMEs, specialized professionals, courageous women and men meet. Leonardo, also thanks to the Turin center of excellence, is at the center of this system ”.
