Samantha Cristoforetti
Italian astronaut (born 1977)
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Key Takeaways
- Samantha Cristoforetti ( Italian pronunciation: [saˈmanta kristofoˈretti] ; born 26 April 1977) is an Italian European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, former Italian Air Force pilot and engineer.
- Cristoforetti holds the record for the longest uninterrupted spaceflight by a European astronaut (199 days, 16 hours), and she held the record for the longest single space flight by a woman until this was broken by Peggy Whitson in June 2017, and later by Christina Koch.
- In December 2021, Politico Europe named her as one of the "dreamers" in its annual list of the 28 most influential people in Europe.
- She spent her childhood in Malè, in Val di Sole, Trentino, Italy.
- Actress Nana Visitor interviewed her and she said "I'm not sure that I would be on this path had it not been for Star Trek .
Samantha Cristoforetti (Italian pronunciation: [saˈmanta kristofoˈretti]; born 26 April 1977) is an Italian European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, former Italian Air Force pilot and engineer. She is the second of two women sent into space by ESA and the first from Italy. Cristoforetti holds the record for the longest uninterrupted spaceflight by a European astronaut (199 days, 16 hours), and she held the record for the longest single space flight by a woman until this was broken by Peggy Whitson in June 2017, and later by Christina Koch. She took command of ISS Expedition 68 on 28 September 2022.
In December 2021, Politico Europe named her as one of the "dreamers" in its annual list of the 28 most influential people in Europe.
Early life
Cristoforetti was born in Milan in 1977. She spent her childhood in Malè, in Val di Sole, Trentino, Italy. She was a fan of Star Trek: The Original Series during her childhood, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager as a teenager, which influenced her interest in space exploration. Actress Nana Visitor interviewed her and she said "I'm not sure that I would be on this path had it not been for Star Trek." When she was 18, she took an AFS exchange program to the US and attended Space Camp.
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