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Samantha Cristoforetti
Astronaut

Samantha Cristoforetti

Famoose for

Becoming Italy’s first woman in space.

Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut

Born
26 April 1977
Birthplace
Milan

More people

Neil ArmstrongBecoming the first person to walk on the Moon.Amelia EarhartBecoming the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic.David AttenboroughBringing the natural world to television through Life on Earth and Planet Earth.

Samantha Cristoforetti

Italian ESA astronaut, engineer and former military pilot who later commanded the International Space Station.

Early life

Engineering

Grew up in Malè and studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Munich before air-force training.

Career

  1. 2009

    ESA selection

    Joined the European astronaut corps.

  2. 2014–2015

    First mission

    Spent 199 days aboard the International Space Station.

  3. 2022

    Station command

    Became commander of Expedition 68.

Contributions

Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut

Published an English edition of her account of astronaut training.

Beyond work

Family and languages

Has two children with engineer Lionel Ferra and speaks several languages.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Robert Markowitz. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.