Samantha Cristoforetti

Samantha Cristoforetti (born April 26, 1977) is an Italian European Space Agency astronaut, Italian Air Force pilot an engineer. She is the first Italian woman in space^[1] and until 2017, held the record for the woman with most time spent in space with 199 days and 16 hours. This record is now held by Christina Koch.^[2][3] Cristoforetti is also the first person in prepare an espresso in space.^[4]

Samantha Cristoforetti
Born	(1977-04-26) April 26, 1977 (age 47) Milan, Italy
Status	Active
Nationality	Italian
Space career
ASI/ESA Astronaut
Current occupation	Astronaut
Rank	Captain, Italian Air Force
Time in space	199d 16h 42m
Selection	2009 ESA Group
Missions	Soyuz TMA-15M (Expedition 42/43)
Mission insignia

Biography

Cristoforetti was born in Milan in 1977. She spent her childhood in Malè, Val di Sole, Trentino, Italy.^[5] When she was 18, she took a US foreign exchange program^[6] and attended Space Camp.

On July 3, 2012, the European Space Agency assigned to Cristoforetti a long-duration mission to the ISS in 2014.^[7]