Walter Villadei is the pilot of Axiom Mission 3.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Roman astronaut Walter Villadi on Thursday via a live video link between the Colosseum and the International Space Station.
Villaday is the pilot of the Axiom Space (Ax-3) mission, a joint venture between Axiom Space, SpaceX and NASA, which launched on January 18th.
“I am happy to be able to join you, albeit virtually,” Meloni told the Italian Air Force colonel. “As you can see, we are connected from the Colosseum, one of the most special symbols of our identity and millennium. History.”
Colosseum, Colegamento Con @WalterVilladeiColonello del.”@ItalianAirForce Impegnato Nella Missione Spaziale #Ax3 Voluntas. https://t.co/SEUYoIErNh
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) January 25, 2024
Meloni spoke with Villadei for about 15 minutes, telling him that Italy was “supporting him” and that as a nation, “we can always do more, we can always move forward, we can always keep the enthusiasm you’re talking about. He expressed his hope that it can be done. Don’t imagine that we should have pre-set limits. ”
Meloni also said he was “particularly proud” that the Ax-3 astronauts were eating Italian food in space, and agreed to “become an ambassador for the UNESCO Intangible Heritage nomination of Italian cuisine.” I thanked Villa Day for giving it to me.
Villaday, 49, is part of the four-person crew for the Ax-3 mission, along with Spain’s Commander Michael López Alegría, Turkey’s Alpel Gezeravci and Sweden’s Markus Vandt.
During the two-week mission, the astronauts will conduct about 30 experiments on the ISS, before returning to Earth on February 3.