Saturday 6 February marks exactly one year since ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano returned from his second mission to the International Space Station. In that time, the world has changed significantly due to the spread of COVID-19.
The Italian astronaut who would have usually shared his knowledge and experiences with European citizens in person, has been doing so via social and digital media. To commemorate one year since his landing, we’re resharing some of our favourite posts.
- Luca’s four spacewalks to maintain the cosmic-ray-detecting Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) with NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan were a major highlight of the Beyond mission. Assembled by an international team of scientists, the detector was installed outside the International Space Station in 2011 and has since collected valuable cosmic-ray data. Thanks to the maintenance and upgrades, AMS-02 can continue its search for dark matter and antimatter for the lifetime of the Space Station.
Years of hard work, training and execution in just 60’’! Happy AMSiversary 🙂 https://t.co/zxn6xCJoeK
— Luca Parmitano (@astro_luca) January 25, 2021
- During the second part of his Beyond mission, served as the third European and first ever Italian in command of the International Space Station. Before leaving the Station, he handed this role over to Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripocha in a traditional change of command ceremony.
- In late November 2019, Luca took control of a ground-based rover to pick up and collect rock samples in a mock-lunar environment from space. The Analog-1 test project had multiple technical goals. High among them was to assess the use of ‘force-feedback’ controls in space, to evaluate if this technology would enable high-precision robotic control in weightless conditions. While selecting rocks Luca received advice from a team of geological experts based at ESA’s astronaut centre (EAC) in Germany, simulating a real-life surface exploration survey.
- While in space, Luca kept a close eye on Earth through the Cupola observatory. He captured many incredible images, among them were a number that reminded us of the fragility of our planet and our responsibility to future generations.
Zoom dentro la tempesta Dorian.
Zoom into tropical storm Dorian. #MissionBeyond pic.twitter.com/Wy5BhegmpS— Luca Parmitano (@astro_luca) September 1, 2019
The smoke, visible for thousands of kilometres, of tens of human-caused fires in the Amazon forest. #noplanetB #MissionBeyond pic.twitter.com/SyoydfJo39
— Luca Parmitano (@astro_luca) August 26, 2019
Australia fires: lives, hopes, dreams in ashes. pic.twitter.com/UeliRTEA4f
— Luca Parmitano (@astro_luca) January 12, 2020
- Among all the hard work, exercise, spacewalking and science onboard, Luca and his crew still found time to celebrate. Thanks, Luca, for a memorable mission!
Celebrando 3 compleanni in una settimana, con le maglie della nostra 'space band': 'Kryk Chayky' – 'Lo strillo del gabbiano'.
Celebrating 3 birthdays in one week (Me + @AstroHague & Alexey), wearing the t-shirts of our 'space band': 'Kryk Chayky' – 'The cry of the seagull'. pic.twitter.com/HtcS9jdlcZ
— Luca Parmitano (@astro_luca) September 30, 2019
ARED, our space gym: the best place to decorate for my birthday!
ARED, la nostra palestra orbitale: il posto migliore da decorare per il mio compleanno! #Beyond pic.twitter.com/ZdkrDy5VvD
— Luca Parmitano (@astro_luca) September 30, 2019
#TBT Christmas Day 2019 in space: @Astro_Christina, @astro_luca, @Astro_Jessica and I shared musical holiday cheer with @space_station Mission Control Centers around the world! (Unfortunately my talents are limited to the kazoo!) #FelizNavidad and #MerryChristmas2020 everyone! pic.twitter.com/UM64A8jqUt
— Andrew Morgan (@AstroDrewMorgan) December 24, 2020
Luca is now based at ESA’s astronaut centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany where he is working as team lead for astronaut operations.