ESA’s efforts to ensure European citizens reap the benefits of space have been highlighted at a global aerospace event held in the UK.
ESA joined several of its institutional and commercial partners – including the UK Space Agency – at the Farnborough International Airshow this week.
On the final afternoon of Farnborough, Italian ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti took part in an out-of-this-world video call from some 400 km above Earth’s surface on board the International Space Station.
Samantha – who is currently partway through her Minerva mission – was introduced to a packed audience of more than 500 people at Farnborough by Matthias Maurer.
In a question-and-answer session, Samantha talked about what inspired her to become an astronaut, discussed her favourite things to do while in orbit, and even explained what space smells like.
Yesterday Samantha completed her first spacewalk, which was also the first spacewalk conducted by a European woman. During the call, she talked about the tasks she performed and how it felt to venture outside the Space Station.