On board Walter Velade, the eighth Italian astronaut in orbit – Corriere.it

At 10.50 pm (Italian time), the Space Also aboard the Axiom-3 Volontas mission is Walter Velade, the eighth Italian astronaut to go into orbit. Velade, 49, an Air Force officer, is the commander of the Dragon spacecraft with the first all-European crew. With him are the captain, the Spanish naturalized American Michael Lopez-Alegría, 65 years old, a veteran who succeeded him in many missions, the Swede Markus Wandt, 43 years old, and the Turkish Alper Gezeravci, 44 years old.

14 day assignment

The mission is directed to International Space Station (ISS) It will last for 14 days. On the International Space Station, Velade will manage experiments studied by the Air Force and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). They are prepared by universities, startups and small companies, and are dedicated to studying the organism, stress resistance and defense against radiation. A new suit that detects physical conditions will be tested. The Air Force test will simulate orbital debris collision management, while the ASI test will investigate the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. The mission was named Voluntas to emphasize the determination to open new paths in the universe.

Previous Italian astronauts are:
Franco Malerba: He flew aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-46 mission, which took off on July 31, 1992. He spent 7 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes, and 2 seconds in space.
Maurizio Chili: Mission specialist aboard the Columbia shuttle STS-75 in 1996. Spent 15 days, 17 hours, 40 minutes, and 20 seconds in space.
Umberto Guidoni: In February 1996 with the shuttle Columbia for the STS-75 mission. In 2001, with the STS-100 mission, he was the first European to enter the International Space Station, which was still under construction. He spent 27 days, 15 hours and 10 minutes in space during the two missions.
Roberto Vettori: In 2002 on board the Russian Soyuz TM-34, for which he was the first European to receive pilot recognition. In 2005 on board Soyuz TMA-6. He returned to space in 2011 on the penultimate shuttle mission aboard Endeavour. He spent 35 days, 12 hours and 25 seconds in space.
Paolo NespoliHis first mission was in October 2007. The second was aboard Soyuz TMA-20 in December 2010. He returned to space in 2017 aboard Soyuz MS-09. He spent 313 days, 2 hours and 36 minutes in space.
Luca Parmitano: It took off on May 28, 2013. During his mission he was the first Italian to conduct extravehicular activity. On July 20, 2019, he was the hero of a new mission, this time by the European Space Agency. He spent 366 days, 23 hours and 30 minutes in space.
Samantha Cristoforetti: The first mission aboard the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft in November 2014. The second mission returns to 2022. She is the first European woman to command the International Space Station. He spent 370 days, 5 hours and 45 minutes in space.