The Italian Space Agency (ASI) said Thursday that it has signed an agreement with Elon Musk's SpaceX for Mars mission experiments.
    "Italy is going to Mars!," ASI President Teodoro Valente said in a post on X.
    "@ASI_Spazio and @SpaceX have signed a first-of-its-kind agreement to carry Italian experiments on the first Starship flights to Mars with customers.
    "The payloads will gather scientific data during the missions.
    Italy continues to lead in space exploration!".
    The payloads will include a plant growth experiment, a weather monitoring station and a radiation sensor.
    The goal is to collect scientific data in the approximately six-month interplanetary flight phase from Earth to Mars and then on the Martian surface.

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