N° 14–2022: Call for media: Q&A with ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti
6 April 2022
Media representatives are invited to a virtual Q&A session with Italian ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on Monday 11 April from 15:00-16:30 (CEST) to learn more about the latest launch preparations and highlights regarding her mission. Samantha is currently busy with pre-launch activities in the USA.
Samantha Cristoforetti’s first launch attempt as a member of Crew-4 will be no earlier than 20 April alongside NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines and Jessica Watkins on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop of the Falcon 9 rocket.
The launch will be streamed live and broadcast on ESA Web TV.
Once on board the Space Station, Samantha’s ESA mission, known as ‘Minerva’, will officially begin. The Crew-4 astronauts are expected to have a brief handover with Crew-3, already on the Station. This includes ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer who was launched to the Station on 11 November 2021 for his Cosmic Kiss mission. Crew-3 is scheduled to return to Earth in late April.
Programme:
15:00 Introduction
15:15 Q&A with ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti in English
15:45 Q&A with ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti in Italian
16:30 End of Q&A
Participants:
Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General
David Parker, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration
Vittorio Colao, Italy’s Minister for Technological Innovation and Digital Transition
Giorgio Saccoccia, President of the Italian Space Agency ASI
Samantha Cristoforetti, ESA Astronaut
Media registration:
Please register online via: https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form/ by 10:00 CEST, 11 April.
The Q&A will be streamed at esawebtv.esa.int, but only registered media will be able to ask questions (in English and Italian) via a dedicated WebEx platform.
Upcoming events are posted on the launch calendar and events calendar at www.esa.int/newsroom.
Contact
If you have further questions, please contact media@esa.int.
More information on 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 @AstroSamantha
Facebook: @EuropeanSpaceAgency
Instagram: @europeanspaceagency
YouTube: ESA
LinkedIn: European Space Agency - ESA
Pinterest: European Space Agency - ESA
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