Following the meeting of the Ministerial Council of the European Space Agency held in Lucerne, Switzerland, the 1-2 December 2016, Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales 67% and Leonardo-Finmeccanica 33%, welcomed the related announcements with satisfaction to the budget allocated, to the strategic priorities approved and to the renewed commitment of the member states.
The following were defined in this Ministerial European Space Programs in the next five years with significant satisfaction also for Italy.
The program will continue ExoMars, allowing Europe and Italy that had a decisive role to land a rover on Mars in the 2020. This spacecraft, which will carry unprecedented scientific experiments, is a natural continuation of the search for life on Mars, initiated by the TGO (Trace Gas Orbiter), already in orbit around Mars and fully functional.
Italy together with Europe will participate in the operations of the International Space Station up to 2024 and the development of Space Rider, key programs of future exploration missions.
The EEOP (European Terrestrial Observation Program) funding has been approved, which will allow the development of new satellites Sentinel of the program Copernicus to ensure the continuity of the flow of data essential for monitoring the climate of our planet.
Support for the ARTES program is a crucial factor for the development of new generations of telecommunications satellites and to ensure that Europe remains among the global leaders in terms of competitiveness, innovation, development of new applications and job creation.
