Samantha Cristoforetti’s journey to space began in the skies. She joined the Italian Air Force in 2001 and qualified as a fighter pilot in 2006, flying the AM-X ground-attack aircraft with the 51st Wing. In 2009, she was selected as an astronaut by the European Space Agency (ESA), completing basic training in 2010. She subsequently contributed to key technical and exploration initiatives, including lunar mission preparation and the Gateway program, and participated in international astronaut training collaborations.
Her operational leadership experience includes serving as commander of NEEMO 23 in 2019, a 10-day mission at the Aquarius undersea research station. Cristoforetti first flew to space in 2014 as a flight engineer on Expedition 42/43, spending 200 days in orbit. She returned to the International Space Station in 2022 for the Minerva mission aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon, where she served as US Orbital Segment Lead, conducted her first spacewalk – becoming the first European woman to do so, and later became the first European woman to command the ISS.
Cristoforetti has received numerous honours, including the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. She is a UNICEF ambassador and the author of Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut, with proceeds supporting UNICEF initiatives.
Cristoforetti completed her secondary education at a scientific high school in Trento in 1996, including a year as an exchange student in the United States. She went on to earn a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Munich in 2001, specialising in aerospace propulsion and lightweight structures, with additional academic experience in France and Russia. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical sciences from the University of Naples Federico II, obtained during her training at the Italian Air Force Academy.
