Minerva: Samantha Cristoforetti returns to the ISS

Date: Tue, Mar 22, 2022 | 07:00 - 07:50 GMT | 08:00 - 08:50 CET

Replay: Tue, Mar 22, 2022 | 16:00 - 16:50 GMT | 17:00 - 17:50 CET

Type: ESA TV Exchange

Italian ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will soon return to space for her second mission on board the International Space Station, ISS. She is expected to fly to the International Space Station with a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule from Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the spring of 2022. 

Samantha’s mission is called Minerva. Inspired by Roman mythology, Samantha says the Minerva mission name and patch pay homage to the competence and sophisticated craftmanship of all those who make human spaceflight possible. 

She will stay on board for several months before returning to Earth, carrying out vital science and operations on behalf of researchers and international partners worldwide. Samantha will also hold the role of US Orbital Segment (USOS) lead, responsible for operations within the US, European, Japanese and Canadian modules and components of the Space Station. The first days of her mission may partly overlap with the stay of fellow ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer. 

Additional footage of Samantha’s training:
https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2021/06/Samantha_Cristoforetti_training_B-Rolls

More information at: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astronauts/Samantha_Cristoforetti

Preview and download:
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2022/03/Samantha_s_second_space_mission_Minerva

Script:
2021.008_ESA_Minerva_VNR_final script_shotlist_TC.docx