He spent 27 days, 15 hours and 10 minutes in space, during two missions

He was born on August 18th, 1954, has a degree in Astrophysics and in 1990 was selected by the Italian Space Agency as Payload Specialist. On the occasion of the first mission of the Tethered Satellite (STS-46/TSS-1), he was a backup for Malerba. His debut in space was in February 1996, with the Columbia shuttle for the STS-75 mission, which orbited the TSS-1R experiment. In 2001, he was the first European astronaut to enter the International Space Station, which was still under development. This was an acknowledgment to Italy for its role in the manufacturing of the ISS and brought six flights for the ISS and, later on, 1 every 5 years of operation for the modules manufactured in Italy by the ASI.

‣ News

WEDNESDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2022

ARTEMIS 1 LIFTOFF! ‣

A leading role for our country, with the Italian space sector guided by the Italian Space Agency MORE...

SATURDAY 15 OCTOBER 2022

Astrosamantha has returned to Earth ‣

The astronaut concludes the Minerva mission after almost six months aboard the space outpost. Watch the video on ASITV MORE...

WEDNESDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2022

Samantha Cristoforetti in charge of the ISS ‣

Samantha has become the first European woman to take the lead of the space outpost. The video is available on ASITV MORE...

WEDNESDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2022

SAMANTHA CRISTOFORETTI WILL BE THE COMMANDER OF THE ISS ‣

AstroSamantha will become the first European astronaut in command of the International Space Station MORE...

THURSDAY 21 JULY 2022

ASTROSAMANTHA, THE FIRST EUROPEAN SPACEWALKER ‣

First extravehicular activity for Samantha Cristoforetti MORE...