NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Italian Space Agency (ASI) President Giorgio Saccoccia, and leadership from the U.S. Embassy in Rome will speak with astronauts aboard the International Space Station this week. ESA (European Space Agency) Director General Josef Aschbacher will join the event virtually.
The Earth-to-space call will air live at 7:40 a.m. EDT Friday, June 17, on NASA Television, theNASA app, and the agencys website.
NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, as well as ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, will speak with the group of international leaders about the benefits of the space station to life on Earth, research theyre conducting aboard the orbiting laboratory, and plans NASA and ESA have for human exploration on the Moon and Mars.
Nelson and Melroy will be in Italy to meet with Italian government and ASI leadership regarding Italys bilateral and ESA-related contributions to NASAs Artemis program and space and Earth science missions.
At a meeting with Italys Interministerial Committee for Space and Aerospace Policies, NASA and ASI will sign an agreement to conduct a preliminary design study on a potential lunar surface habitation module.
