PRESS RELEASE

Appreciated by the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Franco FRATTINI (through a congratulatory message read by Minister Plen. Carlo TREZZA) and by the Minister of Education, University and Research Mariastella GELMINI (wishing success to the new SpaceLand Center of Excellence), the Expo Congress has resulted in an unprecedented series of projects and collaborations for the future of parabolic flights, open to the public, in microgravity and lunar-g/Mars-g conditions as well as for the techno-scientific, educational and economic development of Sardinia.

The event was part of, and endorsed by, the European Year of Creativity and Innovation, with the endorsement of ASI (Italian Space Agency) and several other public institutions and universities.

Within the context of robotic and manned spaceflight programs and its spin-off activities for everyday's life, during the Expo-Congress, innovative works in several science, technology and industrial sectors were presented by national and international scientists, academia (including the Universities of Cagliari, Sassari, Rome -La Sapienza- and the Polytechnics of Milan and Torino), SME and industry representatives, while relevant presentations were made by managers from ESA and the Italian Space Agency on current policies and strategies.

On the first day, a series of bilateral face-to-face meetings got started by an important introductory presentation by Dr. Luigi Fusco of ESA for the E.B.I. program supporting SME incubation and start-ups in particular for technology transfer, involving research centers, corporates, entrepreneurs andacademia, including students from several universities converged at the Congress (ref. Italian law 6/2000 addressing “science public outreach”).

With guests from all over Europe and Asia, day 2 was opened by a key-note lecture by the Minister Plen. Ambassador Carlo Trezza (Ministery of Foreign Affairs) on outer space security aspects, after a congratulatory message read by Carlo Trezza on behalf of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini; afterwards, Prof. Mariano Bizzarri from the Presidency of the Italian Space Agency presented a key-note lecture on aerospace biomedicine and biology, followed by a key-note lecture by Dr. Geraldine Naja of ESA on new policies for Space Tourism.

Besides, within the post-congress B2B meetings, major synergies have been generated for new SMEs and international projects; on top of the potential technology & social-economical benefits for Sardinia, the scientific and educational added-values of the SpaceLand program has also been appreciated by the Italian Minister of Education, University and Research through an official letter sent in, during the event, to SpaceLand President Dr. Eng. Carlo Viberti: in the message, the Minister underlines the great potential of the upcoming “Center of Excellence” SpaceLand in Sardinia for all students, at any age.

NEXT FLIGHT CAMPAIGNS:

• 5-8 NOVEMBER 2009
• 7-10 JANUARY 2010

SpaceLand a SAT EXPO 2009

Parte III - Lo Spazio per l’uomo, l’uomo per lo Spazio
Venerdì 20 Marzo ore 11:00 – 12:30

Tema: Mediante diverse attività satellitari la vita dell’uomo sulla terra è resa più facile, meno pericolosa, più gradevole.

Intervento dell’ing. Carlo Viberti (SpaceLand) sul tema: “Gravità lunare e marziana: dai 12 ai 95 anni a bordo delle missioni di volo scientifico ed educazionale SpaceLand”

Proiezione dei filmati dalla recente missione di volo al NASA Space Shuttle L.F. per esperimenti neurobiologici con l'undicenne Kim Marco, il più giovane soggetto di prova della storia a volare in gravità lunare e gravità zero, commissionati da Istituto Superiore di Sanità, CNR-EBRI / Fondazione Rita Levi Montalcini

SpaceLand è presente durante tutto il SAT EXPO allo stand 43.

SpaceLand supporting Moon and Mars Exploration

Since 2005, taking off and landing in Florida using the NASA Space Shuttle L.F. at the Kennedy Space Center, the SpaceLand program has been operational to enable the industrial community as well as scientists and students to carry out research, development and testing activities in actual Moon-gravity and, respectively, Mars-gravity conditions without leaving the Earth atmosphere.

Such test flights are possible thanks to the particular parabolic flight profiles flown by an adapted Boeing 727-200 aircraft, as authorized by the USA Federal Aviation Administration, to fly parabolas whose curvature is smoother than the standard zero-gravity flight pattern, in order to compensate only a part of the gravitational force acting on the aircraft. Thanks to this particular flight pattern, the pilot succeeds in generating low-gravity levels on board according to specific user requirements, namely to reproduce the lower gravitational fields proper of the mean levels which are to be found on the surface of the Moon and, respectively, Mars. The so-called SpaceLand Lunar-g and/or Martian-g parabolic flight campaign allows to provide up to 35 users with a total testing time of up to 26 minutes per each Mars-gravity flight and approximately 20 minutes per each Moon-gravity flight, with the possibility to carry out three flights per day, namely in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening, with very quick payload assembly turn-over times.

In general, on board this “flying laboratory” engineered by the SpaceLand according to the different user requirements, research, analysis, design, development, testing and qualification can be carried out in a very realistic gravitational environment to verify and optimize prototypes, engineering and functional models as well as flight models of equipment and systems insofar as functions, procedures, methodologies and processes which are gravity-dependent need to be simulated in actual kinematic and dynamic conditions proper of the future lunar and mars exploration programs, both at automatic / robotic as well as at manned levels.

The Moon-g or Mars-g test-flight aircraft is fully ensured as an ordinary western airliner and is certified to board people from 11 to 93 years of age, even with physical disabilities, as demonstrated by the records set by the SpaceLand flight program at international level. The aircrat can be internally equipped with six or more automatic 3-CCD filmcameras and is going to be outfitted with analog terrains to simulate, during the moon-g respectively Mars-g flight conditions, some obstacles and slopes typical of the Moon and Mars surfaces to represent the actual kinematics and dynamics of, for instance, rovers and robotic drillers and manipulators for the future missions of the Exploration Program. This paper shall provide detailed diagrams of the on-board gravitazional levels as compared to the acceleration levels of test subjects during the Mars-gravity and Moon-gravity testing periods as attained from recent flights at the NASA Kennedy Space Center, in order to demonstrate the validity of such an alternative approach to minimize design and development costs and optimize concurrent engineering and AIV activities to ensure full success of the upcoming missions to the Moon and Mars.

Particular emphasis shall be given to the concepts of ISRU and ISSFR, namely standing forIn-Situ Resource Utilization and In-Situ Space Fabrication and Repair: such fundamental sets of activities for successful long-term operations of lunar and martian automatic or crewed basis can be immediately implemented at extremely low "cost-vs-results" ratios on low gravity parabolic flights in order to ensure realistic feasibility tests, concurrent engineering, "hand-on" development and fail-safe validation phases to turn the upcoming projects of the Exploration Program in a win-win operation to the benefit of mankind.

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New audio-videos on the u-tube link on http://www.spaceland.it/

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MOON-gravity and MARS-gravity FLIGHTS for the PUBLIC

Society’s expectations from Space is becoming a factor in the decision-making process for governmental spending in aerospace programmes, especially considering today's financial constraints world-wide.

The need to get ordinary people and particularly students and youth, in general, more involved in space exploration is outstanding.

One of the few ways in which the value for society of S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines can be effectively communicated to the general public is by implementing a system enabling anybody to directly experince the sensations and live the thrill of an actual research spaceflight, although down-scaled to a parabolic flight mission.

This is the reason why we deem important to keep on striving for a systematic opening of parabolic flight opportunities to the laymen, through a series of OPEN flight missions in so-called Lunar-gravity and Mars-gravity flight conditions on board existing aircrafts which, at negligible costs with respect to the potential cultural and scientific return to the society, can increase and enhance both interest and excitement of the general public for Space, especially addressing tomorrow’s youth.

The support which the SpaceLand parabolic flight research and educational program, focused on such objectives, is getting also in intellectual and political terms in Italy and in Europe nowadays provides good reasons to keep on being optimistic about the on-going projecy of systematically providing parabolic flight opportunities for the public.

The underlyng concept is to train, by underwater and ground simulators and training facilities, and eventually fly members of the public in their capacity as hand-on observers or even as test subjects and test operators on board serious though breath-taking parabolic flights.
This paper will provide an opportunity to present, discuss and explore the on-going flight campaigns which have already brought top-level scientists, including groups coordinated by Nobel Prize winners, together with very young kids (11 year old), elderly men (86 and, respectively, 93 year old) and disabled women (100% handicapped), to fly on board so-called Moon-gravity, Mars-gravity and weightless flights for state-of-the-art research addressing, inter alia, ICT, neurobiology, telemedicine and bioengineering at cutting-edge level.

In other words, by engaging the public on board such flight missions at very impressive return vs. cost ratios, we can bring people, and particularly the youth, to the awareness of considering Space as a strategical asset of today's and tomorrow's society, turning Space programs into an useful everyday's reality for the progress of science, technology and knowledge.

SpaceLand means: YOUR FUTURE in SPACE !
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New audio-videos on the u-tube link on http://www.spaceland.it/

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The purposes of the SpaceLand Research & Educational Missions

The recent series of SpaceLand Research and Educational Flights has once more demontrated how S.T.E.M. disciplines (namely Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) can be paired with Educational and Edutainment-related Space Tourism.The 2008 and 2009 Lunar-gravity, Mars-gravity and Zero-gravity Flight Campaigns carried out by SpaceLand with crews of laymen after selection and training both on ground and underwater served three main purposes:

1. Better understanding of the role of neurotrophins and specifically of NGF (nerve growth factor) in the physiopathological manifestation of stress and in pathologies associated to nervous and immune system disregulations, also to prevent and treat neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease) as commissioned by Italy’s CNR and Istituto Superiore di Sanità in collaboration with the group headed by L.Aloe and Nobel Prize Winner R. Levi-Montalcini of the European Brain Research Institute.

2. Contribute to develop of scientific foundations for a safe and productive human presence in space for extended periods of time, in preparation for space exploration of Moon and Mars, supporting international colony-forming programs for in-situ resource exploitation and science advancement).

3. Strenghten the potential of space tourism-related initiatives with a comprehensive program open to everybody, from 11 years of age up to 93 years of age, with a whole range of cultural added-values, targeting at space tourism as well as corporate incentives, team buiding and educational training and flight campaigns in Moon-gravity and Mars-gravity flight conditions.
Operational results from having flown the world’s youngest life-science test subject as well as the oldest man (93 year old) and the first disabled woman in weightlessness and lunar-gravity – mars-gravity are detailed on http://www.spaceland.it/

SpaceLand means: YOUR FUTURE in SPACE !
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New audio-videos on the YouTube link on http://www.spaceland.it/

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FLY AS AN ASTRONAUT !

ONLY 13 SEATS STILL AVAILABLE TO

FLY AS AN ASTRONAUT !

SPACELAND NEW MISSION - QUALIFIER TRAINING

Day 1
Location: SpaceLand Euro Space Center (Belgium)

o 09.00 Multimedia briefing
o 09.30 Sign-off & Press Conference
o 10.30 (in parallel)
+ Microgravity Wall test
+ SCUBA Diving course
+ Underwater Space Dynamics Training at 6 mt depth
+ Multi-axis Training
+ Rotating Chair test
o 12.30 Lunch
o 14.00 – 16.30 (in parallel)
+ Space Shuttle flight mission training
+ Space Mission Control simulation
+ EMU / Shuttle cargo bay maintenance training
o 17.00 Results evaluation and debrief

Evening or morning after:

Flight Bruxelles – Orlando Florida (individual responsibility)


SPACELAND SEGMENT at SPACE SHUTTLE L.F. in FLORIDA

Day 2
* Relocation to Florida
* CHECK in & BRIEFING AT COCOA BEACH

Day 3
* Morning: FLIGHT READINESS REVIEW
* Afternoon: UNDERWATER REHEARSAL TRAINING
* GO-FOR-FLIGHT CEREMONY at SPACE SHUTTLE’s INN

Day 4
SpaceLand Lunar-G, Mars-G, Zero-G Research Flight at NASA Space Shuttle L.F. !

Day 5
* Mission back up day
* Hotel Check out

PROGRAM DETAILS

SpaceLand conventioned hotels

Belgium: 3 star and 4 star hotels in Redu and Transenne, ref Caterine Vuidar e-mail catherine.vuidar@eurospacecenter.be

Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach Florida USA ref. SpaceLand@SpaceLand.it

Application deadline: August 20th

LAST MINUTE FEE including

* all above training and Moon-g, Mars-g, Zero-g flight activities
* individual zero-g flight suit
* SpaceLand patch
* Space gadgets / souvenirs
* SpaceLand Sparco T-shirt
* Re-gravitation Party
* Discounts for hotels
* SpaceLand Training Logbook
* Award Certificate
* VIP assistance from Moon-g, Zero-g flight veterans
* Insurance for Moon-G, Mars-G, Zero-G flight

(not included any personal expenses and travel expense): EUR 6.900

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New audio-videos on the u-tube link on http://www.spaceland.it/

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SpaceLand means

YOUR FUTURE in SPACE !

e-mail: SpaceLand@SpaceLand.it

Info-line: +39.329.067.33.33 fax: +39.011.780.32.32

SKYPE USERID: COSMO_SPACELAND

Web Site: http://www.spaceland.it/

17 POSTI DISPONIBILI PER LA PROSSIMA MISSIONE DAL NASA SPACE SHUTTLE IN FLORIDA

Cape Canaveral, NASA Space Shuttle L.F. - Florida - Aderisci alla nuova missione scientifica aerospaziale di SpaceLand in decollo dal NASA Space Shuttle L.F. in Florida!

Potrai vivere un’esperienza da astronauti in una vera missione dalla pista dello Space Shuttle.

Qualifica ed Addestramento di base il 13-14 settembre 2008 al Campus SpaceLand a 2000 metri sulle Montagne Olimpiche presso www.hoteljafferau.it

Per informazioni: e-mail: SpaceLand@SpaceLand.it

http://www.spaceland.it
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