The PAMELA space mission for antimatter and dark matter searches in space

The PAMELA satellite-borne experiment has presented new results on cosmic-ray antiparticles that can be interpreted in terms of DM annihilation or pulsar contribution. The instrument was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome and it has been collecting data since July 2006. The combination of a permanent magnet silicon strip spectrometer and a silicon-tungsten imaging calorimeter allows precision studies of the charged cosmic radiation to be conducted over a wide energy range with high statistics. The primary scientific goal is the measurement of the antiproton and positron energy spectrum in order to search for exotic sources. PAMELA is also searching for primordial antinuclei (anti-helium), and testing cosmic-ray propagation models through precise measurements of the antiparticle energy spectrum and precision studies of light nuclei and their isotopes. This talk illustrates the most recent scientific results obtained by the PAMELA experiment.