The head of the Office of Space and Aerospace Policies of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers speaks about AI (artificial intelligence): "Space activity is also an opportunity to relaunch the national economy."
United Nations and AI
As documented by the United Nations, in the sixty years after Sputnik, the first artificial satellite that went around the Earth on October 4, 1957, some 8.000 Objects. A number that has increased to 14.000 in the last five years. In 2021 alone, 1800 devices were sent beyond the atmosphere. It means that, even in a year marked by the pandemic, the global number of space launches was ten times higher than in 2012.
It is a significant increase: first of all, it reveals, with the immediacy of the figures, the increasing complexity, but also the centrality of the sector. Not only because today the technological and scientific vanguard, economic well-being and geopolitical strategy converge in space. Also because, more and more, space permeates collective life, so much so that it has immersed us in a daily life space based.
Second, the feverish intensity of extra-atmospheric activities is urgently reminiscent of another complex issue: the need to make space sustainable financing model, in economic terms, in terms of environmental impact and cleaning and orbit management. In addition, it is clear that increasingly capable tools and processing methods are needed to make the augmentation of data available from orbiting devices useful (and sensible). Concepts like high computing and artificial intelligence accompany spatial evolution.
Elena Grifoni Winters and AI (artificial intelligence)
Elena Grifoni Winters, now head of the Office of Space and Aerospace Policies of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, you have to deal with this complexity every day.
Born in 1963, raised in Pisa by a Florentine family – “ another thing that is not easy to handle ” – immediately after graduating in Computer Science she was adopted by the European Space Agency, where she remained for more than twenty years until she became Chief of Staff to the general manager, Josef Aschbacher, a position for which, in 2020, the president Sergio Mattarella gave her the honor of Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy.
" I did not come to space by vocation, but by a strong desire to gain experience abroad ", says. “ After graduation, when a good grade – 107, ed – still it meant that companies contacted me, I rejected a job at Olivetti to go to ESA. The intention was to stay there for a year. turned out differently ".
And not a little: after having also worked in the United States and in Paris, Grifoni Winters returned to Italy only in 2022, when the then minister Vittorio Colao entrusted him with the responsibility of the new space agency, created in September, not without some controversy over the moment – to support the Prime Minister in his functions of “senior management, general political responsibility and coordination of the policies of the Ministries related to space and aerospace programs ”. A responsibility, it must be emphasized, later confirmed by the current government.
Speaking of compound but familiar topics, how do space and AI mesh today?
“The use of artificial intelligence is expanding in all high-tech sectors; machine learning y deep learning they are also being increasingly exploited in space activities. Above all for three reasons: to increase the speed of analysis of the data produced from and to space.
We have AI systems that help us reduce the amount of information transferred to the soil to a useful amount. In 2020, for example, an experimental AI aboard the PhiSat-1 satellite, designated to monitor polar ice and soil moisture, dismissed the images as irrelevant. the other two big reasons to use AI in space are reducing costs and risks. Thanks to synthetic intelligence, systems are more efficient and the possibility of error is less. It is no coincidence that today they are mainly used in telecommunications, space exploration and earth observation.
What are the most advanced projects on AI?
“Just by way of example, I would mention the collaboration, signed in 2022, between Thales Alenia Space y Aiko, a leading AI startup, helping develop control strategies to make missions safer. Another interesting startup is called Studio Map: applies artificial intelligence to Earth observation and facilitates the control of maritime traffic by also distinguishing the type of vessel. As for the downstream, through an agreement with a foreign company specialized in AI, Enel it will be able to monitor the melting of ice upstream of hydroelectric power plants.
The objective is to make the management of water flows more efficient. exosoul, a program created by the Gran Sasso Institute of Science together with the University of L'Aquila, aims to create software that represents our 'moral preferences', something that knows us and can protect us, trivially, from intrusive if not aggressive programs ».
Can artificial intelligence make space more sustainable?
“We should agree with the concept of 'sustainability'. There are essentially two types: the first and most discussed is the green sustainability And in this area, artificial intelligence can help reduce energy use and the amount of data to be stored. In addition to the examples already given, I could mention the Digital Twin project, the creation of a virtual and dynamic model of the Earth in which the parameters can be changed to assess the consequences. How useful this is for forecasting purposes is evident.
The other sustainability is economic: by reducing costs and risks, the space becomes more accessible and its business model is strengthened. In short, we can make more space ".
Real. Just as it is undeniable that the war in Ukraine is highlighting how much the possession of data and space infrastructures makes an individual relevant. Isn't that a security risk?
“We need to think long and hard about this question. However, a private strategic infrastructure is nothing new. I am thinking, for example, of the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940: even in that case the strategic infrastructure belonged to the citizens. It was they, with a flotilla, who evacuated the soldiers from the French coast, an aspect that played a crucial role.
And what about the United States, where most nuclear power plants are not publicly owned, or our decision to privatize the energy sector? What matters is that governments do not depend on individuals, including through an appropriate regulatory environment. They are two even more important elements in space, a sector that has developed overwhelmingly in recent years. Technology evolves faster than standards, but in this case we have to force ourselves to speed up so as not to lose control of the processes”.
what do you mean?
“In the event of an accident with a drone or an autonomous car, who is responsible? And, in space, how imaginative is such a scenario reproduced? It is not even necessary to evoke a war: more simply, space evolves in a legislative vacuum, or in any case in an obsolete regulatory framework. The thought and initiatives undertaken, such as the Outer Space Treaty, must adaptfrom 1967, so that they reflect contemporaneity.
Soon we will begin to exploit lunar resources, those of asteroids, perhaps even those of Mars. It will be difficult to remind a company facing huge costs, perhaps in mining or infrastructure, that its investments will benefit everyone. But this is what the 1967 Treaty establishes. We need to speed up our legislative processes, keeping its principles firm, of course, but also making them more realistic, more compatible with life today. Of course, the same reflection also involves the personal sphere. I go back to the example of Exosoul: we will have to protect ourselves from the technological development that we are producing ourselves”.
Italy's space investments have never been as big as they are today. What are the country's objectives, in a context of European crisis and growing competition, even private?
“In the meantime, it should be remembered that Italy has always invested in space, since the beginning of the sector, although yes, never like in the last five years. Just think of the subscription to the ESA Ministerial in 2019 (2.280 million euros, ed) and the even greater in 2022, of more than 3.000 million. Italy is also one of the countries that have focused on the Next Generation Eu investment space. In short, it is clear that Italy believes in space activity also to relaunch the national economy.
The results, on the other hand, are excellent: we have a strong industry, which wins global contracts. In addition, we have always shown consistency in one area, one space, where programs have to be thought of in the long term, sometimes even twenty years in advance. Therefore, from the programmatic point of view, our priorities remain unchanged: Earth observation, launchers and exploration.
However, at the recent ESA Ministerial we addressed new areas, such as security: Italy has the firm intention of joining the program of connectivity Segurade the European Commission, because it believes that it is the gateway to something in great expansion. So, of course, it's undeniably a difficult period: that's why I think it's essential to pay close attention to industrial policy. We need to make sure, particularly as Europe, that we give our industry the tools to remain globally competitive."
By the way, can Europe continue to claim a central role in space?
“It is fundamental and urgent that an agreement be reached on an industrial policy that on the one hand reflects continental ambition and on the other respects national strategic interests. All this without forgetting the need to be competitive on a global scale. It is a challenge that we must begin to address already this year. Europe has a central role for space, it is indisputable: we have a strong educational system and an equally vigorous industry. We are leaders in crucial sectors, such as Earth observation.
The fact is that it is not enough, or it is no longer enough; the industry is changing and we have to adapt. I think there are three guidelines to strengthen ourselves and maintain our role: first, invest more in education and research. Second, finding ways to ensure greater synergy and manage competitiveness between nations.internal rivalry.
So, third item, we need to adopt more simplified rules for our industry. We need to speed up the times of contracts, lighten procedures. It is no coincidence that this aspect is one of the strengths of the United States' approach to space."
Space is a traditionally male sector. What is being done in Europe to change this situation?
“All high-tech industries are male. Today there are many initiatives that encourage girls to pursue scientific faculties, for example I am thinking of PinKamp from the University of L'Aquilao at STEM Days in Turin. There are also associations that point to the same result. Little by little the numbers are changing. The recent selection of astronauts by the European Space Agency, in November, also testifies to this: of 22.000 candidates, 5.000 were women, a significant increase compared to the previous contest. Also, of the five career astronauts selected, two are women.
In the total group, which also includes reserves and paraastronauts, women make up half. As I was saying, growth is slow, but understandable: it's a grassroots process and depends on how many girls enroll in scientific colleges, or enter the industry without getting lost along the way. Where the feminine presence is lacking, or in any case grows with an unacceptable phlegm, it is instead in the leading roles.
We should have the courage to hire women in positions of high responsibility, even if, with the same skills, they should have less experience than their male colleagues. I'm sure this apparent 'game' is really worth it. To this I add another normative aspect: it is necessary, especially in countries where women have a more important role in family management, to find the tools to lighten the load. On the contrary, we will continue to disperse valuable talent.”