Samantha will fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom alongside her Crew-4 colleagues NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins. The targeted launch date for Crew-4 is no earlier than 23 April 2022.
Samantha waves to media upon arrival at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. ESA-S.Corvaja.
Once Samantha arrives at the Station, her ESA mission known as Minerva will officially begin.
Among the inhabitants waiting to welcome Crew-4 aboard is Samantha’s fellow ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer. Matthias was launched to the Station as part of Crew-3 in November 2021 and will soon return to Earth after approximately six months in orbit.
Minerva is the second mission for Samantha, who spent just shy of 200 days in orbit for her Italian Space Agency ASI-sponsored mission Futura in 2014-15.
The name of this mission is inspired by Roman mythology and a homage to the competence and sophisticated craftsmanship of the people all over the world who make human spaceflight possible.
Crew-4 arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. ESA-S.Corvaja.
Throughout Minerva, Samantha will hold the role of US Orbital Segment (USOS) Lead. This segment includes the US, European, Japanese and Canadian modules and components of the Space Station.
She will also conduct and support numerous European, and many more international, experiments in orbit to help advance knowledge on Earth and propel humankind farther into space.
The liftoff of Crew-4 to the International Space Station will be broadcast live on ESA Web TV. In the meantime, visit the Minerva mission page to find out more and follow Samantha on Twitter and TikTok for regular updates.