Who do you want to be when you grow up? “I want to be an astronaut,” many young boys – and a few girls – would answer. Some of them actually make it, including 37-year old ESA/ASI astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who became the first Italian woman to travel into Space on Sunday, November 23, 2014.
For 5 months, until May 2015, she will be working as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station with a joint mission of the European Space Agency and the Italian counterpart, launched on a Soyuz spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhistan, Russian Federation.
Samantha was assigned to “Futura” – this is the name of the mission – in July 2012, and since then she had been training on Station systems, the Soyuz spacecraft, robotics, and spacewalks. Together with NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, Samantha also endured a two-week quarantine and a final qualifying exam before taking off to Space.
A strong motivation and determination are essential components to fulfill such an ambitious dream, and they never failed her. Born in Milan on April 26, 1977, Samantha completed secondary education in Trento in 1996 and spent a year in the U.S. as an exchange student. After graduating from the Technische Universität Munich, Germany, in 2001, with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, she joined the Italian Air Force Academy in Pozzuoli, Italy.
In order to complete the Air Force training, she also obtained a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical sciences at the University of Naples in 2005. As part of her studies, she spent 4 months at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace in Toulouse, France, working on an experimental project in aerodynamics, and 10 months at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technologies in Moscow, Russia, where she wrote her final dissertation.
Besides traveling and learning foreign languages, including French, German, and Russian, Samantha also enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, scuba diving, and of course flying. She specialized at the Euro-Nato Joint Jet Pilot Training in Wichita Falls, Texas, and became a fighter pilot capable of operating six different types of military aircrafts. She is also Captain of the Italian Air Force.
In May 2009, Samantha Cristoforetti joined the ESA, and now she has embarked on the second long-duration mission of the Italian Space Agency, whose objectives range from biological to 3D printing experiments. On the International Space Station she will meet with Russian Elena Serova: it will be the second time in 16 years that the Station’s six-member crew includes two female astronauts.
On many occasions, Samantha stated her enthusiasm and pride in representing Italy and Europe in the Space endeavour, and she is keen on interacting and sharing her extraordinary experience with those who follow her social pages.
Even Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi used Twitter to express his appreciation and to wish a safe trip to the first Italian woman in Space. And we all look forward to hear from “@Astro Samantha” and to watch more stunning pictures of the Blue Planet taken from the Space.
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