First future moon-Mars space station module to be Italian

(ANSA) - Rome, October 25 - The first module of the future space station to be sued as a stepping stone for man's return to the moon and then on to a Mars landing will be Italian, Italian Space Agency (ASI) President Giorgio Saccoccia told ANSA Friday after signing a 'Joint Statement for Cooperation in Space Exploration' with NASA CEO James Bridenstine in Washington.
    He said the message from the US on the Gateway space station "is very clear: they have opened up to international collaboration and want to do so in all possible ways." The accord was signed on the same day that Italian astronaut Roberto Battiston, a former ASI chief, got into the Space Hall of Fame.