Samantha Cristoforetti will be the first Italian woman, and the first European, in command of the International Space Station. This was announced by ESA, which only a few months ago had announced the astronaut's return to the mission.

"Returning to the ISS to represent Italy and Europe is an honor in itself. My appointment to the commander position is an additional reason for satisfaction," commented AstroSamantha. "And I look forward to drawing on the experience I have gained in space and on Earth to lead a very competent team in orbit."

Before her, two other women, both Americans, had assumed the role of commander. Cristoforetti will return to orbit for Expedition 68 scheduled for 2022. She will depart from Florida, along with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines, aboard the Crew Dragon of SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by Elon Musk.

44 years old, born in Milan, raised in the province of Trento, Samantha has two degrees, one in Engineering at the University of Munich and one in Aeronautical Sciences at the Academy of Pozzuoli. She speaks English, German, French, Russian and is learning Chinese. To be admitted in the Esa corps, in 2009, she passed a selection with more than 8,000 candidates from 17 countries and a series of psychological and physical tests lasted almost a year. In her first mission in orbit, Futura, between 2014 and 2015, she spent 200 days in orbit.

"Samantha's appointment is an inspiration to an entire generation that is competing to join the ESA astronaut corps," said Director General Josef Aschbacher.

"Becoming an astronaut has been a dream come true. It brings together many of my passions: science and technology, complex machinery, challenging work environments, international teams, physical training, public resonance. And, of course, every once in a while you get to ride in a rocket for work!" had said a few months ago AstroSamantha addressing aspiring astronauts.