Italian and United States space
agencies are in talks on a possible joint asteroid mission,
Italian Space Agency (ASI) chief Enrico Flamini said Wednesday.
His statement came after Luxembourg announced it is working
on legislation for the exploitation of raw materials on
asteroids.
"Such legislation has already been approved by the US
Congress and it's not surprising that other countries are
starting to organize in the same direction," said Flamini.
Asteroids are highly likely to have valuable raw
materials, he explained.
Flamini added that Italy can contribute its technological
know-how to create a living environment in outer space as well
as tools to sample and analyze minerals.
Whether the future asteroid mission will be carried out by
robots or humans, its objective will be to "bring a significant
quantity of mineral samples back to Earth," he concluded.
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