Time.news – While the astronauts aboard the Space X settle into the International Space Station (ISS), many on Earth are wondering what the fate of this important engineering, scientific and political infrastructure that has held together, for several years, the former leading powers of the Cold War. Among them, Umberto Guidoni, Italian astrophysicist, popularizer and writer, as well as the first European astronaut to visit the International Space Station.
Guidoni comments to Time.news on the situation that characterizes the orbiting station and on the recent announcement by Russia, which has expressed its intention to definitively move away from the project and to build an exclusively Soviet orbiting station within the next decade. “The news of Russia’s separation from the International Space Station project represents the sign of the end of an era of collaboration that began a long time ago“.
Umberto Guidoni (Agf)
After over 20 years of operations, missions and expeditions, the ISS could in fact soon find itself on the verge of a radical “change of course”. There is also the US plan to privatize the ISS, which could therefore become a tourist destination and at the same time continue research activities, albeit in the private sphere.
Developed with the aim of testing technologies for space exploration and providing an ad hoc research environment, the ISS was born from a dream of collaboration, sharing and research, in which the United States currently participate with NASA, Russia with the Roscosmos, or RKA, Europe with ESA and its divisions, Japan with Jaxa and Canada with CSA-ASC.
Since the first crew took office on the orbiting station on 2 November 2000, the areas that make up its sections have never been abandoned. Over the years, many astronauts from different countries have followed one another on board, taking off from the launch platforms, mainly Soviet and American, and reaching the low orbit between 330 and 410 kilometers above sea level where the station is located.
According to NASA, there are 243 total visitors to the space station. The crews conduct experiments in biology, chemistry, medicine, physiology and physics, but also perform astronomical and meteorological observations. From the very beginning of the project, the contribution of the various participating nations has been fundamental not only for the assembly of the orbiting station, which took several years, but also for the achievement of the various objectives of the missions carried out on board.
This week Russia’s announcement in which the nation has made clear its intention to withdraw from the ISS project by 2025.
“Also for the future of space exploration – says Guidoni – it seems that there will be shifts in international equilibrium, with the Russian and Chinese space agencies on the one hand and NASA with European, Japanese and Canadian partners who will dedicate themselves to differentiated projects “.
The idea, explains the astronaut, is to build a small orbiting station, the Lunar Gateway, in which the same actors of the original ISS will be involved, minus the Soviet side, which, together with China, is oriented towards the construction of another space station and towards the (re) conquest of the Moon.
The international collaboration that has always characterized the ISS project could also fail in view of the privatization of various sectors of space exploration. In addition to SpaceX, the agency founded by the entrepreneur Elon Musk, former head of Tesla, more and more private companies are trying their hand at allocating funds to space projects.
The same replacement of the older modules of the orbiting station is managed by the private American company Axiom, which aims to own and operate the first commercial space station in the world, with the aim of building a commercial infrastructure to make it real for as many people as possible the dream of space.
Space exploration is actually moving towards a space economy that is increasingly oriented towards space tourism, which moves towards the creation and use of goods, resources and services in the outer space.
“It is clear that we are in a new ‘space race’ – says the astronaut – but this time there are also many private entities involved who often achieve successes and goals in a very short time, just think of the achievements of SpaceX or Boeing in the field. space”.
The Crew Dragon capsule, from Musk’s company, brought four astronauts, two Americans, a Japanese and a Frenchman aboard the ISS. Not least, Boeing is completing tests for another vehicle, the Starliner, capable of bringing the next space patrons to their destination.
“The Axiom company then announced that it will bring a crew of civilians into orbit in the coming months, to get to know the cosmos a little more closely “, continues Guidoni.” The price of the ticket is obviously still exorbitant, and very few have been able to afford those figures, but we are approaching an era in which it will not be necessary to be an astronaut in order to reach space “.
“There is a project to shoot films and to build a hotel for tourists, all well above the earth’s surface – he observes – but the investments are still very large and I think it is appropriate to wait a few decades before a real own Space economy. The funds needed for these areas are really prohibitive, risks and delays are still on the agenda “.
So the times are not immediate: “Elon Musk’s shuttle was supposed to be built about five years ago, so it is really premature to think of a future in which it will be possible to travel safely to the stars by paying the ticket, although technologies and innovations are increasingly scientifically advanced “, continues Guidoni.
The difficulties of realization, the risks, the unknowns, the doubts, the fears and the complications of space, on the other hand, represent the most intriguing aspects of the human adventure in the cosmos, together with the possible applications of the scientific concepts developed in the field of space research.
The conquest of space, in fact, can be considered since the “race to the moon” largely as an exhibition of economic power, a demonstration of prestige and innovation, for which the technologies and successes achieved by the various parties involved cannot ignore the economic, military and social returns that space research can bring.
“The devices and knowledge deriving from missions to the Moon have led to a drastic acceleration in technological development – comments Guidoni – and this strong link between innovation and space research, which in my opinion represents the spearhead of scientific research, is still very strong and significant today. Many of the devices we use in our daily life derive precisely from studies in the space field and are available precisely because of the work done in recent years “.
In a hostile and complicated environment like space, the astronaut specifies, it is essential to be able to count on the best technologies. Furthermore, research and experiments conducted on the International Space Station also often have applications for the way we deal with everyday obstacles.
“The final goal is very important – adds Guidoni – and once the tested technology is mature it is easier to adapt its use for life on Earth. To give just one example, in order to make it easier to wash clothes on the Iss, which are currently being shipped clean from the surface of the planet, there was talk of making a washing machine capable of carrying out washing cycles by consuming only five liters, instead of the 50 or more currently needed. With the energy crisis underway, it is obvious to think about the importance of such an innovation “.
“Mars also represents a very important goal – concludes Guidoni – the technologies that we will develop to make the soil of the Red Planet usable could also prove to be fundamental in many areas of the Earth, where the necessary funds, resources and efforts are not always allocated. , the techniques and tricks that will be indispensable for life on the Moon or Mars will one day be available even in many ‘difficult’ areas of the Earth, especially if we do not learn to take care of our home. In general we can say that looking at the stars it can be a way to observe our planet with different eyes “.
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