NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, met with new Italian Ambassador Armando Varricchio, right, at NASA Headquarters on Monday, May 9, 2016. NASA and Italy have longstanding and broad-based space cooperation, both bilaterally through the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and through Italian contributions to the European Space Agency. Areas of cooperation include space science, Earth science, Human Space Flight and the International Space Station, with significant Italian contributions, and, most recently, the initiation of a joint feasibility study on potential cooperation during the robotic segment of NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). The mission will demonstrate new capabilities in the proving ground of deep space as part of NASA’s journey to Mars.
Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)