On the initiative of the Italian Embassy in Prague, the Italian Cultural Institute (IIC) today hosted the opening conference of the exhibition 'Sidereus Nuncius: from Galileo Galilei's research to modern satellite navigation systems', which will be open to the public free of charge from 22 to 31 October.
The conference and exhibition aim to pay tribute to the genius of Galileo Galilei, whose insights are at the basis of modern navigation systems. In fact, it is no coincidence that the European constellation of navigation satellites is called Galileo. The operation of the Galileo satellite constellation, ensured by Euspa, provides highly accurate data for a wide range of services, contributing over 10% of GDP to the European economy.
The proceedings, coordinated by the Embassy's Space Attaché, Maria Cristina Falvella, were introduced by the greetings of the Italian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Mauro Marsili, and IIC Director, Marialuisa Pappalardo. Other speakers included the astronomer and professor of experimental physics at the University of Padua, Alessandro De Angelis, with a report on the genius of Galileo Galilei, and the executive director of the European Space Programme Agency (Euspa), Rodrigo Da Costa, on Euspa and the European Galileo constellation.
After the event, an exhibition on the conference themes was opened, organised with contributions from the National Institute of Astrophysics (Inaf), the Galilei Museum, the Italian Astrophilatelic Association, the Permanent Representation of Italy to International Organisations in Paris and Euspa. Among the many guests on the opening evening were Vaclav Kobera, the Director of Space Activities at the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic, representatives in Euspa from all twenty-seven EU countries, delegates from the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and representatives of the diplomatic network in Prague.
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