The Astronaut's Home a first-ever journey into the future of human life in space

·       The Astronaut's House unveiled as one of the highlights of BEX's first edition, the international expo-conference dedicated to the convergence between the space economy and terrestrial industries, taking place in Rimini from September 23 to 25

·       Companies contributing content to the Astronaut's House include Technogym, GVM Assistance, Formula Medicine and NTT DATA Italia, Spacewear, Electrolux Professional, Artisia by Barilla, Altec and Thales Alenia Space, along with Università Politecnica delle Marche, CETMA and ENEA, which will offer visitors virtual reality experiences set in orbit

·       The project is supported by Axiom Space, CETMA as Knowledge Partner, Stark1200, a specialist in multimedia technology and set design, and Prostand as Technical Partner

·       BEX is held under the patronage of ASI and with support from ICE AGENZIA and ESA, and is an official stop on the 2026 Stati Generali della Space Economy

Rimini, August 27, 2026 - At the first edition of BEX, Beyond Exploration Expo, taking place at Rimini Expo Centre from September 23 to 25, IEG presents the Astronaut's House, an immersive experience built around a simple question: what will it be like to live in space? The project brings together, in a single installation, the conditions that let a person work, eat, stay healthy and build a daily routine in extreme environments such as an orbiting station or the Moon, and shows how many of the solutions developed for exploration are already delivering benefits here on Earth.

The theme sits within a fast-growing sector: in 2024, Italy's aerospace supply chain posted revenue of 21.4 billion euros, with the space segment up 63% compared to 2021, according to the CTNA-Confindustria mapping presented to the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy.

The experience, conceived by BEX and developed with support from CETMA, the European Center for Research, Technology Transfer and Design, as Knowledge Partner, follows humanity's path into space and unfolds across four areas, alongside the Think Lounge, the cross-cutting space dedicated to dialogue between the space world and non-space sectors. The Astronaut's House is also supported by Axiom Space, with its CEO Jonathan Cirtain taking part, and by Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), which is also exhibiting a model of the MPH, the multipurpose lunar surface habitat module the company designed and developed for the Italian Space Agency (ASI) as part of the Artemis Program in collaboration with NASA.

The Human Factor opens the journey with the preparation of body and mind for a mission, covering training technology, medicine and physiological monitoring. Here you'll find GVM Assistance, with its remote monitoring systems, Formula Medicine, and NTT DATA Italia, the Italian branch of the global leader in AI services, digital business and technology. The Wearable Habitat traces the evolution of astronaut clothing, from flight suits to the latest frontiers in textile innovation. The area's centerpiece is Spacewear, which brings the suits worn by Walter Villadei during his Virgin Galactic flight, along with several everyday garments inspired by that suit, showing how solutions born for space can become products for everyday life. Alongside them, in partnership with the Italian Air Force, several suits tied to the history of Italian space exploration are also on display.

The Mission Lab looks at how microgravity becomes a laboratory for research, new materials and the life sciences. Università Politecnica delle Marche brings an avatar of Walter Villadei able to interact with visitors, while CETMA offers a virtual reality experience exploring the International Space Station, along with a holographic cube telling the story of SOMNIIA, the sleep-monitoring mask developed through ASI research. The Orbital Harvest closes out the journey with the growing, storage and preparation of food far from Earth: ALTEC retraces the journey of a space meal using real food samples, while ENEA presents its own prototypes and a virtual reality experience dedicated to greenhouses in extreme environments.

Running across all four areas, the Think Lounge hosts short conversations over the three days with astronauts, companies, researchers and institutional representatives. What ties these sessions together is technology transfer between space and terrestrial industries.

PRESS CONTACT IEG head of media relation & corporate communication: Elisabetta Vitali; press office manager: Marco Forcellini, Pier Francesco Bellini; press office coordinator: Luca Paganin; press office specialist: Mirko Malgieri; press office assistant: Julia Andreatta media@iegexpo.it; 

MEDIA AGENCY BEX - BEYOND EXPLORATION EXPO: MEP S.r.l. Leonardo Vivard - leonardo.vivard@mep.it - mob. +39 3897652135 | Valentina Impellizzeri -valentina.impellizzeri@mep.it

This press release contains forward-looking statements and estimates that reflect management's current views, particularly regarding future operating performance, the execution of investments, cash flow trends and the evolution of the company's financial structure. By their nature, forward-looking statements carry an element of risk and uncertainty, since they depend on future events. Actual results may differ, even significantly, from those announced, due to a range of factors including, but not limited to: trends in Italy's out-of-home dining and tourism markets, trends in the jewelry and goldsmith market, trends in the green economy market, movements in raw material prices, general macroeconomic conditions, geopolitical factors, and regulatory developments. The information contained in this release is not intended to be exhaustive and has not been verified by independent third parties. The projections, estimates and targets presented here are based on information available to the company as of the date of this release.