According to Josef Aschbache of the European Space Agency, Astrosamantha is in pole position to participate in the Artemis mission which will bring the man (and woman for the first time) back to our satellite

Samantha Cristoforetti, her space diary. Look at the pictures Photo Video

Samantha Cristoforetti, for all of us Astrosamantha, like Neil Armstrong: who knows if our space Valkyrie should not follow in the footsteps of the legendary commander of Apollo 11, the one who on the night of 21 July 1969 first put his foot on the Moon, with a small step for man, but a gigantic leap for humanity. Photo | video

AN EXPECTED RETURN - 53 years later, NASA tries to regain the satellite with the three-part international mission Artemis which, by 2025, will have to land two astronauts, a man and a woman, the first in history. 'Since we are partners of the American Space Agency', explains Josef Aschbacher, director of ESA, the European Space Agency, 'we will propose a shortlist of three of our candidates'. The current European astronaut corps is made up of 6 men, in addition to our Luca Parmitano, two Germans, Alexander Gerst and Matthias Maurer; a Dane, Andreas Mogensen; an Englishman, Thimoty Peake; a Frenchman, Thomas Pesquet; and a single woman, Samantha Cristoforetti, currently in orbit on the International Space Station with the Minerva mission, the chances that she is the one chosen are high.

Samantha Cristoforetti, a seven-hour spacewalk: the delay, the goals and the early return - guard

A SUPER-CURRICULUM - After all, few astronauts can boast a prestigious curriculum like that of Astrosamantha: pilot captain of the Italian Air Force, two degrees (in mechanical engineering at the University of Munich, in Aeronautical Sciences at Federico II in Naples), 6 space missions and the record for staying in space in a single flight: 199 days. In short, a veteran.

Samantha Cristoforetti, no shower (and sleeping in a sleeping bag): this is how you live in space - guard

THE MISSION OF ARTEMIS - 'The Apollo missions that brought man to the moon were a powerful engine from an economic and technological point of view, but they also made the US a global leader,' says Aschbacher. The aim of Artemis is precisely to revive those laurels and bring Europe to the fore. But there is also much more. The ambitious project, we said, is divided into 3 stages. The launch of Artemis 1 is scheduled for Monday 29 August, at 2.33 pm Italian time, from the Kennedy Space Center polygon in Florida: it is a test mission of instruments and equipment and will last about 40 days. The Orion capsule, at the head of SLS, a launch rocket measuring 98 meters, will circle the Moon, carrying into orbit some instruments for measuring cosmic radiation and a series of dummies to verify the type of stresses to which future astronauts will be subjected. Orion is equipped with special cameras that, flying over the satellite at about 60 thousand kilometers of altitude, will transmit to the terrestrials the feeling of being on board and looking through the portholes. It will be - it is certain - a mission in step with the times, that is, very social.

Samantha Cristoforetti returns to space: “Dad will take care of my two children

ITALIAN COMPANIES ARE ALSO INVOLVED - Hopefully, in 2024, Artemis II will depart, making the same journey, but with real astronauts on board. The heart of the operations will be the super-technological Service Module docked to the Orion spacecraft, supplied by the European Space Agency and built in part by our ThaleAleniaSpace and Leonardo, with the water and oxygen reserves needed by the crew and also 32 small battery-powered thrusters. to govern the movements. The energy that Orion needs will be guaranteed by 4 solar cell panels, designed and built in Italy.

Samantha Cristoforetti, the first greeting from the International Space Station: 'Space is better than I dreamed of

A FIRST STEP TO MARS - If the second episode will run smoothly as well, we will start, in 2025, with Artemis III, the mission that will bring the man (and also the woman) back to the Moon. This is not a pure remake of the Apollo epic, but a long-term project destined to give an incredible impetus to the history of space exploration. In fact, NASA wants to assemble “Gateway”, a modular station orbiting around the satellite, capable of carrying out all the future logistical functions necessary for the future construction and maintenance of a permanent base on the lunar soil, inhabited by astronauts and scientists. 13 possible areas have already been identified, near craters with ice water, from which oxygen and hydrogen can be extracted. This base is destined to grow more and more, until it becomes a small city, that is, the first extraterrestrial human colony. From here, where the force of gravity is a fraction of that on Earth, future launches of spaceships for the exploration and conquest of Mars and the rest of the planets will start. In short, that path begins that until yesterday seemed like science fiction, but now it will finally become reality.

Source: oggi.it