© 2013 Nassa Johnson
Samantha Cristoforetti is from Milan, Italy. She was born April 26th, 1977. Growing up she spent most of her time in Male, Italy. This is in northern Italy, with a small population of only about 3,000 people. The people of Male live off of the money brought in by the tourist around the area. It is known for handcrafted wooden products and farming of apples, cheese, and cold cut meats. It was here that Cristoforetti developed an enjoyment to hiking, scuba diving, and being outdoors. The town does not have large space programs for the people who live there. Cristoforetti developed an interest in space science at a young age; this passion is what led her to a foreign exchange program in Minnesota, USA. She attended Space camp Level II or what is now called Advanced Space Academy (Alumni, 2015). After returning to Italy she continued in the path of science and space while attending the Technical University of Munich while earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering. She then continued her schooling studying in France and then at Mendeleev Russian University of Chemistry and Technology in Moscow. Upon completion of her education she received another degree in Aeronautics Sciences.
She moved onto the Italian air force after graduation and became the first women Lieutenant and flight pilot in Italy. Before leaving the military Cristoforetti had flown over 500 hours in a total of six different military aircrafts, which earned her the rank of captain (esa, 2015). In 2009 when she was just the age of 32 she was one of six European applicants to join the ESA Astronaut Corps. She was chosen over 7994 other qualified applicants, “Samantha’s technical degrees and proven skills in mastering high-tech machines coupled with the aptitude for languages and enthusiasm for traveling makes her an ideal astronaut candidate,” claims the ESA. Three short years later Cristoforetti was assigned to her first flight mission. She was assigned to the Futura Mission, set to leave in 2014. “I am now thrilled to continue this journey with the goal of serving Italy and Europe as a crewmember of the International Space Station,” exclaimed Cristoforetti after receiving her assignment (ESA Astronaut, 2012).
The future mission was almost 200 days in space; the mission was apart of Expeditions 42 and 43. Cristoforetti along with two other astronauts; Anton Shkplerov and Terry Virts. They were carried to space in the Soyuz TMA-15M aircraft. This was only the second long-term mission conducted by the Italian Space Agency. The mission consisted of experiments for both ESA and ASI. The logo for the mission was chosen through a local art competition.
Ironically, loving space Cristoforetti took a picture in a Starfleet uniform, which is a costume from Star Wars. In the picture she was holding a cup of coffee, which gave her the award of brewing the first espresso in space (Cristoforetti, 2015). Upon landing their stay in space was delayed one month due to two Russian rockets having failure problems. Once landing she was awarded with the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by Italian president Mattarella. “’She has been followed with affection and love by all Italians,’ said the Italian President while handing a paper to the young lady” (L’italo-American, 2015).
Futura Mission Patch ©ESA/ASI/V. Papeti, 2014
Since her missions have finished she enjoys continuing hiking, scuba diving, and interacting with other space enthusiast by blogging and on twitter, she encourages people to follow her on twitter by clicking the link.
