World Space Week (WSW) is “an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition.” The United Nations General Assembly declared in 1999 that World Space Week would be held each year from October 4-10. These dates are explained by historical events: On October 4, 1957, Sputnik 1, the first human-made Earth satellite, was launched; and on October 10, 1967, the Outer Space Treaty was signed. World Space Week is observed by ninety-six countries, and celebrations include exhibitions, events, and special activities at planetaria all around the world. Each year, the World Space Week Association picks a theme for WSW. For 2024, the chosen theme is Space & Climate Change. The theme is meant to celebrate the transformative impact of space technology in our ongoing battle against climate change.
Space Vocab 101, from Asteroid to Zenit
Italy is among the ninety-six countries celebrating WSW, AKA la Settimana Mondiale dello Spazio. While you may not be in Italy to take part in their space-related events and workshops, but you can still read about them—as long as you know some basic terms you might need when dealing with space. Let’s start with the good news: Italian space vocabulary includes many cognates—that is, words that have a similar spelling and meaning in both English and Italian. From space itself to telescopio, galassia, meteorite, astronomia, asteroide, meteora, universo, satellite, pianeta, cometa, and telescopio, you certainly won’t need any translations, will you? Some other terms are not that similar but still very close (nebulosa for “nebula”), and others are English tout court (see “shuttle”—there’s the Italian navicella [spaziale], but “shuttle” would do). For others, however, you might need some help: Anni luce means light-years, forme di vita means life-forms, Luna is Moon, and Sole is Sun—but you probably can get away with the rest of the solar system (sistema solare) members: Mercurio, Venere, Terra (that’s Earth!), Marte, Giove, Saturno, Urano, and Nettuno. Our best advice is to go ahead and try to read something about space. Be it an event description or an article from an educational magazine, you will be surprised by how it will be easier to understand compared to more generalist pieces, as there are usually no references to pop culture, no slang, and Italian scientific language is generally more similar to English than “everyday” language is.
Notable Italians in Space, and One Notable Italian Who Wrote About Space
Now that you’ve passed Space Vocab 101, let’s review some history, or better yet, Italians who contributed to making space-related history. Up to 2024, twelve Italians have made it to space. The first was Franco Malerba in 1992. Roberto Vittori and Paolo Nespoli have both made three orbital spaceflights in their careers, which is the current record for Italian astronauts. One special mention belongs to Samantha Cristoforetti, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, former Italian Air Force pilot, and engineer. Cristoforetti was the second of two women sent into space by ESA and the first from Italy. Her longest time in space—199 days and 16 hours—is also the longest uninterrupted spaceflight performed by a European astronaut. And a couple of fun facts: An asteroid discovered in 1998 is named after Cristoforetti—the 15006 Samcristoforetti—and in 2021, a Barbie was made in her image.
“Astronaut” is of course the evergreen, most popular answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Space is one of the most intriguing and mysterious topics ever, and it’s easy to get poetical and philosophical when thinking about it. So, let’s end with another notable Italian who is much beloved by children, but this time from a totally different field: Gianni Rodari, and his poem Sulla Luna (On the Moon):
Sulla luna, per piacere,
non mandate un generale:
ne farebbe una caserma
con la tromba e il caporale.
Non mandateci un banchiere
sul satellite d’argento,
o lo mette in cassaforte
per mostrarlo a pagamento.
Non mandateci un ministro
col suo seguito di uscieri:
empirebbe di scartoffie
i lunatici crateri.
Ha da essere un poeta
sulla Luna ad allunare:
con la testa nella luna
lui da un pezzo ci sa stare…
A sognar i più bei sogni
è da un pezzo abituato:
sa sperare l’impossibile
anche quando è disperato.
Or che i sogni e le speranze
si fan veri come fiori,
sulla luna e sulla terra
fate largo ai sognatori!
You might be tempted to translate it. We instead suggest that you instead read it and to let it bring you to the Moon … and maybe *not* back.
By Claudia Quesito
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