Samantha Cristoforetti

Samantha Cristoforetti is the rare person whose résumé reads like a dream sequence: Italian Air Force pilot, mechanical engineer, amateur radio operator, self-professed Trekkie, and the first Italian woman in space, sent up by the ESA. What moves me most is the through-line — a lifelong love of flight and the cosmos that she actually rode all the way to orbit, Star Trek fandom and all. Decorated repeatedly with Italy's Order of Merit, she embodies the idea that curiosity, when pursued seriously, can carry you literally beyond the planet. I find that kind of intellect and passion deeply inspiring.

Name (English)

Samantha Cristoforetti

Name (Japanese)

サマンサ・クリストフォレッティ

Reading

さまんさ・くりすとふぉれってぃ

Born

April 26, 1977 (age 49)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Taurus / Snake

Origin

Milan, province of Milan, Italy

Occupation

astronaut / military aviator / mechanical engineer / amateur radio operator / Trekkie

High school

St. Paul Central High School

University

Technical University of Munich

Awards & achievements

• 2013 Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
• 2015 Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
• 2018 honorary doctorate of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
• Ambrogino d'oro

• Official sitehttp://samanthacristoforetti.esa.int
• Xhttps://x.com/AstroSamantha
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha%20Cristoforetti
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B5%E3%83%9E%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B5%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%95%E3%82%A9%E3%83%AC%E3%83%83%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q379039

Tags

• province of Milan
• astronaut
• military aviator
• mechanical engineer

Last updated

2026-06-24

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.