Italy 1st Female Astronaut To Return After 199 Days In Space

Samantha Cristoforetti would be on her way to earth on June 11, she Italy’s first-ever female astronaut after spending 199 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Cristoforetti checked that her Russian-made Sokol space suit was ready for her re-entry aboard the descent module and sent stunning pictures from space. The 38 year-old astronaut’s conducted about a dozen experiments for Italy, the effects of microgravity on the human body.

The results would aid further research with the ultimate aim of planning a long-term space mission. Cristoforetti also ran experiments in the fields of biology and medicine. She is expected return with more achievements to her name.

Reports said such achievements include installing a 3D printer on the ISS and the ISSpresso machine, with which she prepared espressos for the crew. Cristoforetti spoke with Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, on March 30 through a linkup at the European Space Agency in Paris, as well as with Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, on April 7. She also spoke with Italy’s Minister of Education, Stefania Giannini, and 300 students visiting the Italian Space Agency on April 22. The Soyuz TMA-15M re-entry vehicle, which is currently docked at the Russian Rassvet module, will detach at 12:20 p.m. (CET) on Thursday.

The return operations would begin at 8.55 a.m. with a farewell party with the astronauts who are to remain on the ISS and entry into the Soyuz capsule. Once the doors were sealed the operations would be coordinated from the Roscosmos centre on land.

The capsule would touch ground at 15.43 p.m. near the city of Dzhezkazgan on the steppes of Kazakhstan. According to report, Cristoforetti now holds the duration record for female astronauts, beating American astronaut Sunita Williams’s 195 days on the ISS from December 2006 to June 2007.
 

Cristoforetti’s prolonged stay on the station was unplanned. She was due to return on May 14 but her re-entry was delayed after the Russian Progress M-27M freighter disintegrated in the atmosphere and plummeted into the Pacific Ocean early that month.