Samantha Cristoforetti
Encyclopedia
Samantha Cristoforetti is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) is an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, the third woman astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
in the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
, and the first Italian woman astronaut.
Biography
Cristoforetti was born in Milan in 1977. She studied in Bolzano and TrentoTrento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
and graduated from the Technical University of Munich
Technical University of Munich
The Technische Universität München is a research university with campuses in Munich, Garching, and Weihenstephan...
with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. She studied at the École nationale supérieure de l'aéronautique et de l'espace
École Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace
The École Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace , founded in 1909, is one of the most prestigious and selective grandes écoles in France. It was the world's first dedicated aerospace engineering school and is considered to be one of the best in Europe in that field...
in Toulouse, France, and at the Mendeleev Russian University of Chemistry and Technology
Mendeleev Russian University of Chemistry and Technology
D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia has its roots going far back into the 19th century. Back then, professors from the Imperial Moscow Technical School came up with an idea of establishing an Industrial College in Moscow to train “Chemical and Mechanical Engineer...
in Moscow, Russia.
She also graduated in Aeronautics Sciences at the Italian Air Force Academy in Pozzuoli
Pozzuoli
Pozzuoli is a city and comune of the province of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean peninsula.-History:Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of Dicaearchia...
, becoming one of the first women to be a lieutenant in the Italian Air Force
Italian Air Force
The Italian Air Force has gone under different names in different periods:*Regia Aeronautica , from 1923 to June 1946*Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, the air force of Italian Social Republic during World War II...
.
She speaks Italian, German, English, French and Russian.