International Space Station crew members William McArthur and Valery Tokarev sent congratulations Sunday to the athletes gathered in Turin, Italy, for the closing ceremony of the 20th Olympic Winter Games. In a video message sent to athletes and spectators gathered in the Stadio Olimpico, McArthur from the United States and Tokarev from Russia said they applauded the accomplishments of the world's athletes who competed in the 2006 winter games.
"From hundreds of kilometers above the Earth, we have been watching the performances of the athletes with excitement and admiration," McArthur said.
The two men, who have lived aboard the station since last October, and who constitute the twelfth crew on the orbiting facility, also praised the spirit of international cooperation that brought the Games to Italy. "It is the same spirit of international cooperation that created and sustains the International Space Station," McArthur added. "We are working together in extending humanity beyond Earth to return to the Moon and, to one day, explore Mars."
The station is a joint project of fourteen nations on four continents, and its construction mirrors the global nature of the games. Olympic host nation Italy is one of 10 European participants in the ISS, represented by ESA. Italy also played a prominent role in the station's construction, and Turin is the birthplace of some of its important components.
Elements including the shell of the European Columbus module, the ISS re-supply modules, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules, Nodes 2 and 3, and Cupola, the station's "window on the world," were constructed in Turin. Other Turin activities involving the station include continued engineering and logistic support to MPLM operations from the Advanced Logistical Technology Engineering Centre.
"We would especially like to congratulate Italy for organizing the games, and for its contributions to the space station project," Tokarev said.
The crew signed off to their Olympic audience with, "arrivederci," the Italian word for "good-bye."
