ESA title
Astronaut

Samantha Cristoforetti

Samantha Cristoforetti was born in Milan, Italy, on 26 April 1977. She completed her first six-month Futura mission to the International Space Station between November 2014 and June 2015 and returned to space for her Minerva mission in 2022, serving as the fifth European and the first European female commander of the International Space Station during Expedition 68.

Biography

Experience

In 2001, Samantha joined the Italian Air Force. She was admitted to the Air Force Academy as an officer candidate and served as class leader for four years. Following her graduation in 2005, she attended the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program at Sheppard Air Force Base in the United States, where she earned her fighter pilot wings in 2006. Upon her return to Italy she was assigned to fly the AM-X ground attack fighter at the 51st Bomber Wing in Istrana.

Samantha was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009. She joined ESA in September 2009 and completed her basic astronaut training in November 2010. She was then assigned to the role of ESA reserve astronaut, which allowed her to earn her initial qualifications in EVA and robotics, as well as the certification as flight engineer of the Russian spacecraft Soyuz. In March 2012 she was assigned to fly as flight engineer on the Soyuz TMA-15M, as part of the crew of Expedition 42/43 on the International Space Station.

On 23 November, 2014 Samantha was launched from the cosmodrome of Baikonur in Kazakhstan. She returned to Earth on 11 June, 2015 after spending 200 days in space. The mission, which was given the name Futura, was the second long-duration flight opportunity for the Italian Space Agency, the eighth for an ESA astronaut.

After completing her post-flight tasks, Samantha was given technical and management duties at the European Astronaut Centre, which included serving on technical evaluation boards for exploration-related projects. For several years she led the Spaceship EAC initiative, a student-centred team working on the technological challenges of future missions to the Moon. She then served for two years as crew representative for ESA in the Gateway project to establish a staging post around the Moon, with an emphasis on crew systems and habitability aspects for the ESA-provided I-Hab module.

Samantha was also part of a working group tasked with liaising with Chinese counterparts to define and implement cooperation in the field of astronaut operations. In 2017, together with fellow ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, she took part in a sea survival exercise organised by the Astronaut Center of China in the Yellow Sea. This was the first joint training of Chinese and non-Chinese astronauts in China.

In 2019 Samantha served as commander for NASA’s 23rd Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO23) mission on a 10-day stay in the world’s only undersea research station, Aquarius.

In July 2015 Samantha was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the Italian president. She holds honorary degrees from the University of Pavia, Politecnico di Torino and Vrije Universitaet Amsterdam.

Samantha is a UNICEF ambassador and donates to UNICEF the proceeds from sales of her memoir Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut, in which she shares her experience of being selected as an astronaut and then training for and flying her first space mission.

Samantha was launched to the International Space Station as a member of Crew-4 on 27 April 2022 for her second space mission, Minerva, where she spent another 170 days in space as a mission specialist for Expedition 67 and 68. During this time, she became the fifth European and the first European female commander of the International Space Station. Samantha also carried out her first spacewalk, and the first conducted by a European woman. She landed safely back on Earth on 14 October 2022.

When not travelling for work, Samantha lives with her partner Lionel and their two children Kelsi Amel and Dorian Lev near ESA’s Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.

Samantha Cristoforetti is an avid reader with a passion for science and technology, and an equal interest in humanities. She enjoys learning foreign languages and her current challenge is Chinese. Occasionally she finds the time to hike, scuba dive or practice yoga.

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ESA missions

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Samantha Cristoforetti is a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut of Italian nationality. Between November 2014 and June 2015 she spent 200 days in space on a mission to the International Space Station as a Flight Engineer for Expedition 42 and 43. During this Italian Space Agency ASI-sponsored Futura Mission, Samantha conducted experiments in the Station's laboratories. She recently returned from another 170 days of living and working aboard the International Space Station for her ESA mission, Minerva, on 14 October 2022.

Samantha Cristoforetti

(English) Minerva mission begins as Samantha arrives at Space Station

(English) Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom, carrying ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and her NASA colleagues Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines and Jessica Watkins, docked to the International Space Station at 01:37 CEST Thursday 28 April.

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Samantha Cristoforetti

(English) Watch live: Crew-4 docking to the International Space Station

(English) Follow the live coverage as the SpaceX Crew Dragon docks to the International Space Station, marking the beginning of ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti’s Minerva mission.

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Samantha Cristoforetti

(English) Crew-4 arrive in Florida ready for launch

(English) ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA on Monday, where she will spend a final week in quarantine before Crew-4 is launched to the International Space Station.

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Samantha Cristoforetti

(English) Revised flight plan brings change for Samantha

(English) In May 2021 it was announced that ESA astronaut and Dragon Crew-4 mission specialist Samantha Cristoforetti would serve as Commander of International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 68a.

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Samantha Cristoforetti

(English) Samantha welcomes a familiar face to Crew-4

(English) NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins has been named the fourth and final member of Crew-4 and she’s no stranger to Samantha Cristoforetti who worked with her underwater during NEEMO 23.

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Samantha Cristoforetti

(English) Targeted launch dates for Matthias and Samantha

(English) NASA and SpaceX are continuing plans to launch Crew-3 astronauts to the International Space Station as early as Sunday 31 October, and targeting the return home of Crew-2 astronauts in the early-to-mid November timeframe.

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Samantha Cristoforetti

(English) Q&A with Samantha Cristoforetti

(English) Watch the replay of a question and answer session between ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration David Parker as Samantha prepares for her second flight to the International Space Station.

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Samantha Cristoforetti

(English) Are you Cristofoready?

(English) ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti has been assigned a second space mission and will fly to the International Space Station in spring 2022.

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