It would take his ability to communicate science in these troubled times of pandemic.
And also his sagacity, to interpret the international crisis that is crumbling even collaboration in space.
In short, it would have taken Margherita Hack, the 'friend of the stars' astrophysicist, who would have turned 100 on 12 June.
She is a great scientist, a popularizer, a staunch supporter of civil rights and the secularism of the state, in these days she is remembered with a relay of events and even a statue in Milan, the first dedicated to a scientist on public land in Italy.
A record that Margherita Hack would probably have commented with one of her ironic and cutting jokes like a true Tuscan Doc that she was: she, who was born ironically near Via delle Cento Stelle in Florence, in the Campo di Marte district.
The first Italian woman to direct an astronomical observatory (that of Trieste, from 1964 to 1987), during the Second World War she had taken her first steps as astrophysics at the Arcetri Observatory, on the same hill where Galileo spent the last years of his life Galilei.
From there for Margherita Hack began a career as brilliant as the stars that she has studied for years, holding prestigious positions also abroad.
Nine years after her death, which took place on 29 June 2013, the indelible mark she left as an astronomer and popularizer remains indelible.
Tavani (Inaf), his ability to communicate has made astronomy popular
Margherita Hack has left an indelible mark because with his great ability to communicate he has made astronomy popular: the president of the National Institute of Astrophysics ( Inaf), Marco Tavani, remembers the great scientific contribution of astrophysics, alongside the one she had as a popularizer.
"In her field of investigation, spectroscopy, Margherita Hack has conducted very interesting studies, making an important contribution," Tavani told ANSA.
"She was also very involved in the management of science, as the first female director of the Trieste Observatory and then she dealt with other branches of astronomy. She has always favored this discipline even in difficult times, considering that at at the time, the observers were independent bodies, and it has always worked to include that of Trieste in national initiatives ".
Alongside this role of scientific management, "Margherita Hack carried out an enormous communication job: she managed to pierce the screen with her peculiar way of expressing herself and at the same time - observes Tavani - she was always careful and rigorous in her content. a disclosure made with simple words, but correct from the scientific point of view: it is a rigor it has always had, it has not simplified too much but has made itself understood by everyone ".
Certainly Margherita Hack "has changed something: without her the dissemination of astronomy would have been different. Even today we miss her spontaneity and her colloquial and never banal communication. She had fallen into her role and become a character it's to his credit.