Participation in Axiom Space's Ax-3 mission will allow us to increase the best national skills related to human activities in space, both in the medical and technological fields, through experiments in microgravity
The Ax-3 mission, directed towards the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024 and in which Defense participates with Col. Walter Villadei of the Air Force, will give the Country System the opportunity to increase scientific, technological and operational – both of institutional bodies and private companies – linked to human activities in space.
With an all-European crew, the mission of the US company Axiom Space - which will take off from the Kennedy Space Center (Florida) on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon shuttle - will allow astronauts on board the ISS to carry out a series of scientific experiments in low orbit (Low-Earth Orbit – LEO). For Italy, the experiments were promoted by the Ministry of Defense and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), in coordination with research centres, universities and industries, to amplify - through experimentation - the great national experience in the operational field, medical and technological, applied to space.
In detail, the Air Force will carry out testing activities, for the first time from space, on the ISOC (Italian Space Operations Centre) software system, the heart of its Space Situational Awareness (SSA) capability. The astronauts on board the ISS will replicate some analyzes normally carried out by the SSA Centre, one of the European space operations centers at the forefront for monitoring space objects re-entering the atmosphere, and which constantly monitors possible collision events between active orbiting artificial objects ( including the ISS) with space debris.
The two-week stay in microgravity conditions will make it possible to test and verify the physiological effects of space flight on humans, to understand both biological and psychological changes. In this context, the Air Force will carry out a study linked to the cardiovascular system, focused on the biological reactions of endothelial function to microgravity, while the Italian Space Agency (ASI) will return to analyze the effect of microgravity on the aggregation of beta proteins amyloid (Aβ), which are implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, ASI will carry out the ORION experiment, aimed at studying female fertility in microgravity conditions and the PROMETEO II experiment for the study of oxidative stress, at the basis of many deleterious effects of space flight, including in particular disorders cognitive and behavioral.
A non-exhaustive list of in-orbit experiments is available here link
Air Force Background
As part of the renewed international interest in the space sector, Italy - where human and technological excellence in this field already resides - is at the forefront in the valorisation of civil-military collaboration initiatives and public-private partnerships, aimed at ensuring concrete benefits both in terms of development and strengthening of operational and defense capabilities in the space sector, and in terms of concrete social, scientific, economic and industrial returns to the country. From this perspective, the Ax-3 mission represents the enabling trait-d'union within a national strategic vision, which synergistically links the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy - with delegation to Space, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests, and the Italian Space Agency, representing a privileged opportunity to continue to promote the commitment towards safe and effective access to Space.
The Air Force, with its wealth of skills, is naturally projected to also enhance and monitor the space environment, providing its experience at the service of Defense and the country. Through national programs, bilateral cooperation and participation in industrial and research projects, the Armed Forces is fully integrated into the country system and works to ensure the maintenance of excellence in the national Space and Aerospace sector, also thanks to its training capacity and support for human activities in Space.
Background Italian Space Agency
The Italian Space Agency boasts important experience in the sector of human flight in space which has established itself and consolidated over the years. For over 15 years it has been implementing and testing science and technology in microgravity on board the International Space Station, by virtue of participation in ESA programs and international agreements with NASA. In particular, scientific experiments of human physiology have been developed for monitoring the health of astronauts and payloads for Life Science. Thanks to the agreement with NASA, signed in 1997 (ASI-NASA Memorandum of Understanding – MoU), the Italian Space Agency (ASI) has privileged access to the International Space Station (ISS). Thanks to the futuristic and technological Italian industrial contribution which led to the completion of the ISS with the supply of three MPLM modules (one of which, the PMM became a permanent module of the ISS in 2011) the ASI obtained, in exchange, the right to carry out additional flights of Italian astronauts for long-duration missions and to exploit the resources on board the ISS. A situation that resulted in the opportunity to continuously carry out experiments on board the ISS.