At the Wired Next Fest Simonetta Di Pippo explains how the space economy affects us all

Graduated in astrophysics and space physics at Sapienza, she was the first woman in the world to receive the Hubert Curien award: Simonetta Di Pippo headed the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs for 8 years, while since March she was appointed director of Bocconi's Space economy evolution lab, where she is professor of practice of Space economy. Di Pippo, who in 2006 was awarded the honor of official Knight of Merit by the then President of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, also gave his name to a celestial body: in 2008 the International Astronomical Union called "Dipippo "the asteroid 21887.

Simonetta Di Pippo will be present at the sportsgaming.win Next Fest to be held in Milan from 7 to 8 October at the Fabbrica del Vapor, where she will talk about space economics and the future during the panel There is space beyond space, Saturday 8 October from 12.55 to 13.20.

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The space economy

The scientist is the author of Astronauts and Space Economy. The new frontier of development, and over 1,000 articles. As she tells in her latest book, Di Pippo is convinced that research in space also has a fundamental impact on terrestrial life and is important for understanding what is happening from the point of view of the climate crisis on our planet. The space economy is a rapidly developing sector that will be part of our future. The space economy, according to Di Pippo, does not only concern space, but many other sectors, such as agriculture and the environment. His laboratory at Bocconi is aimed at studying the impact of space activities, the intersections between the aerospace sector and other areas, the exploitation of resources always in a sustainable perspective and the training of expert personnel both from an economic point of view, both from the scientific one.

The commitment in the fight against the gender gap

Di Pippo has also distinguished herself in the course of her life for her commitment to gender issues. She was the first woman to become director of Human Space Flight at the European space agency (ESA) in 2009 and founded Women in Aerospace-Europe together with Claudia Kessler, a Dutch-based association that aims to extend the aerospace sector also to women. For her commitment in bridging the gender gap, especially at the executive level, in 2017 Di Pippo was nominated by the UN International Gender Champion.