Innovation Beauty Inspiration. This is the title of the event, dedicated to space design, that the Italian Embassy in Vienna and the Representation to the United Nations have organised in collaboration with the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI). An initiative aimed at raising awareness of the combination of technological innovation and design, key themes of Italian excellence, applied to the space sector. The event featured the multimedia exhibition Space Design - Italian, promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
After London, Prague and Paris, Vienna is the most recent stop of this travelling exhibition, born from a project by Annalisa Dominoni and Benedetto Quaquaro, professors at the Design Department of the Politecnico di Milano, where Space Design is the subject of a unique master's degree course.
The event was organised on the occasion of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Space (COPUOS) at the headquarters of ESPI, the think-tank of reference for space policies. It made it possible to present to space agencies, the diplomatic and scientific community the reality of space design, defined by Politecnico professors as a bridge between "science, technology, innovation and beauty".
The Politecnico di Milano professors, who collaborate with leading companies in the production of space living modules such as Thales Alenia Space, illustrated the importance of designing for space, highlighting how properly designed environments and objects can improve the quality of life and performance of astronauts in orbit and, in the near future, on the Moon. Underlining the value of this approach was astronaut Luca Parmitano, guest of honour at the event, who shared his own experience and emphasised the positive impact of design on living conditions aboard the International Space Station.
There was also an intervention from the style and design industry, with Alexandra Lupas, Corporate Projects Director at PRADA, speaking about the collaboration with the American company Axiom Space on the next-generation spacesuits that will be used in NASA's Artemis III mission. Another tangible example of Italian excellence in design applied to space, unveiled for the first time at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan last October.
Guests included UNOOSA Director Aarti Holla-Maini, who opened the event together with Ambassador to Austria Giovanni Pugliese, Permanent Representative to International Organisations in Vienna Ambassador Debora Lepre, and ESPI Director Hermann Ludwig Moeller.
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