Before the flight, all astronauts study the Russian segment of the station, and the cosmonauts of Roscosmos study the American one
ROME, December 6. /tass/. Italian Samantha Cristoforetti, who will become Europe's first female commander on the International Space Station (ISS), has already begun preparations for the flight in Russia, said Denis Manturov, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, at a meeting of the Russian-Italian cooperation Council.
"The first female cosmonaut of the Italian Space Agency, Samantha Cristoforetti, is currently training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. As far as I know, she can lead the next, 68th expedition to the ISS. I sincerely wish success to this space mission," he said.
Before the flight, all astronauts study the Russian segment of the station, and the cosmonauts of Roscosmos study the American one.
This space mission will be the second for Cristoforetti. As reported, NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines are to go to the ISS with her. The launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon manned spacecraft with a crew on board is scheduled to take place from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in the US state of Florida in 2022. Cristoforetti will become the fifth station commander from Europe in history.
