N° 17–2022: Minerva mission begins as Samantha arrives at Space Station

Crew-4’s journey to space

Collectively known as Crew-4, Samantha and her NASA colleagues were launched from launchpad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA at 09:52 CEST Wednesday 27 April.

Samantha served as Mission Specialist during this flight and will now take on the role of USOS Lead, responsible for operations within the US Orbital Segment of the International Space Station for the duration of her mission. This segment includes the US, European, Japanese and Canadian modules and components of the Space Station.

Crew-4 was welcomed aboard by the Station’s current inhabitants, including ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer who was launched to the Station as part of Crew-3 and is expected to return shortly to Earth.

Two Europeans in orbit

ESA director general Josef Aschbacher says it is particularly special to see two European astronauts together in space.

“It gives me great pleasure to see not only the successful launch and docking of Crew-4 with Samantha Cristoforetti, but also the meeting of two highly capable European astronauts in orbit.

“As a seasoned space flyer, Samantha will continue to represent Europe and support European experiments aboard the Space Station throughout her Minerva mission. It is these experiments that will aid European innovation on Earth as we seek to build our industry, preserve our environment and explore even farther in space.”

This sentiment is echoed by ESA director of human and robotic exploration David Parker who says, “Samantha has been an excellent role model for those currently participating in ESA’s astronaut selection process – providing advice, insight and inspiration throughout.

“As USOS Lead, she will continue to be an excellent representative for Europe as we look forward to another busy few months of science, research and operations on the International Space Station.”

More information on the Minerva mission:

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Minerva

Latest updates on the Exploration blog:

https://blogs.esa.int/exploration/category/astronauts/samantha-cristoforetti/

Images

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images

https://www.flickr.com/photos/astrosamantha/

Terms and conditions for using ESA images:

www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images

For questions or more information related to ESA images, please email: spaceinimages@esa.int

Videos

https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2022/03/Samantha_s_second_space_mission_Minerva

Video B-roll of Samantha training for the Minerva mission is available on ESA’s videos for professionals:

https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2021/06/Samantha_Cristoforetti_training_B-Rolls

Terms and conditions for using ESA videos:

https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Terms_and_Conditions

For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please email: spaceinvideos@esa.int

Social media

Twitter: @esa @esaspaceflight @AstroSamantha

TikTok: @AstroSamantha

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Instagram: @europeanspaceagency

YouTube: ESA

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About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with five Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int

For further information:

ESA Newsroom and Media Relations Office – Ninja Menning

Email: media@esa.int

Tel: +31 71 565 6409