Italian astronaut to return to International Space Station
The next European Space Agency astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) has been announced as Roberto Vittori. The ten day mission is scheduled to begin on 15 April from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The mission is to be known as ENEIDE, and is named after an epic tale written by Latin poet Virgil in the 1st Century BC that tells of the journey of Aeneas from Troy to Italy and the foundation of Rome. Mr Vittori will perform a full experimental programme, as well as exchanging the station lifeboat and the current ISS expedition crew. Seven European astronauts have thus far flown to and worked on the ISS, but Mir Vittori is unique in that this is his second visit to the ISS. In 2002 he took part in the Marco Polo mission. ENEIDE is co-sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Defence and the country's Lazio region, and also has support from Finmeccanica, FILAS and the Rome Chamber of Commerce. 'ENEIDE, as with all human spaceflight missions, will benefit many areas of life and further expand the experience of the European Astronaut Corps,' said ESA Director of Human Spaceflight Daniel Sacotte. 'This will help us on the road to further human exploration of our solar system.'
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