First European woman to command the International Space Station

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will be the first European woman to command the International Space Station (ISS), the Daily Guardian reports.

“ ESA astronaut Samantha Christoforetti will be the commander of the International Space Station on ‘Mission 68’. (…) As a member of the crew of ‘Crew-4’, along with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines, will be launched Samantha to the ISS from Florida, USA, in 2022. “

“This will be the second space mission for Samantha, who will become the first European woman to command the International Space Station,” he added.

The three astronauts will travel with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, billionaire Elon Musk’s company.

The three astronauts will travel with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, billionaire Elon Musk’s company.

“She is the best in the job,” said Josef Ashbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency, on social media, stressing that Cristoforetti is “an inspiration” for everyone.

Cristoforetti was emotional and asserted that “returning to the International Space Station on behalf of Europe is truly an honor in itself.”