Smart Girl Samantha Cristoforetti Sets Space Record

Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is making history! I recently came across Cristoforetti a few weeks ago via the extraordinary photographs she posts via her Twitter account. It was only later that I learned her exceptional backstory; that she is a Captain in the Italian Air Force, and engineer in addition to being an astronaut for the Italian European Space Agency. If you think about it, just one of those accomplishments would be pretty impressive. It would be fairly easy to go on about her achievements both professionally and otherwise (she’s fluent in Italian, English, German, French and Russian, and is currently learning Chinese, for instance), but this week Cristoforetti is in the news for setting a few records.

As of last Friday, June 5, 2015, she holds the records for longest single space flight by a woman. In addition, she is also the first Italian woman in space, holds the record for the longest uninterrupted spaceflight of a European astronaut, and she’s still living on the International Space Station! During her time in orbit so far, Cristoforetti has conducted research experiments on weightlessness and tasted the first cup of espresso in space. In case it’s not coming across, Samantha is one of the coolest ladies currently working in science, and as a long time admirer of women in STEM, I’m becoming more and more excited that there are women at the top of their fields making progress for fellow smart women and humanity in general. We’ll all be looking forward to what records Cristoforetti breaks next when she reenters the atmosphere later this month.

Have you come across an interesting woman in STEM that makes you excited? Tell us about her in the comments section!

Image Credit: NASA/ Public Domain