D/HSF reveals mission name and logo to the crew
A special mission presentation took place last week at the heart of the Columbus Control Centre, in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. ESA Director of Human Spaceflight (D/HSF), Simonetta Di Pippo, unveiled the logo and name of the next mission of the European astronaut Paolo Nespoli to his crewmates and the international press.
‘MagISStra’ will be the name of Europe’s third long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in which Paolo Nespoli will serve as first flight engineer. “I am always especially happy whenever it is the turn of a European astronaut to live in the Station: this is when most of the scientific research is performed and we can truly appreciate the return on societal investment back on Earth,” Di Pippo said.
The explanation about the name was given by Antonella Pezzani, the winner of a competition open to all citizens of ESA’s member states. She came over with her family all the way from Italy to be present in such a special occasion. Incidentally she was born in Cremona, a city in Northern Italy not so far from the one where Paolo Nespoli himself grew up.
ESA’s astronaut shared the moment with the Russian cosmonaut Dmitri Kondratyev and NASA’s astronaut Catherine Coleman, who will be flying with him in December to the ISS aboard a Soyuz TMA spacecraft for Expeditions 26 and 27.
The Head of Mission Operations at the German Space Operation Centre, Thomas Kuch, the Mission Manager, Andreas Schoen, and the Astronaut Mission Coordinator, Maurizio Nati, gave also an introduction to the mission highlights and the supporting role of the European teams on the ground.
Simonetta di Pippo took the opportunity to announce an upcoming call for ideas “to find novel ways to use our ISS for future space exploration endeavours. All nations are already counting on this unique laboratory in space to perform frontline scientific experiments in microgravity conditions, something that cannot be encountered anywhere else on Earth.”
