Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut

Samantha Cristoforetti

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Allen Lane
18 November 2020

Autobiography: science, technology & engineering; Memoirs; Mathematics & Sciences; Space science; Popular astronomy & space

'Today I woke up on Earth. And I will fall asleep in space'

In space the sun rises and sets 16 times a day. You fly over every sea, every mountain and desert, every city and every port. The most ordinary things -- eating, sleeping, brushing your teeth or cutting your hair -- have to be relearned, until they become familiar again. This is the story of Samantha Cristoforetti's incredible journey to becoming an astronaut, and her journey beyond Earth.

Her voyage as an apprentice astronaut began when she was in her early thirties - five years of intense training around the world, from Houston to Japan to the legendary Star City in Russia. Countless hours spent in centrifuges, spaceship simulators and under water for spacewalk practice. Then, one day, a rocket was waiting for her on the launch pad. And after eight minutes of wild ascent, she was on orbit, crunched up with her two crewmates in a tiny spaceship that took them to the International Space Station.

With honesty and warmth, Cristoforetti chronicles the two hundred days she spent on the ISS, the joys and challenges of being in an extraordinary place, from the sublime sight of seeing Earth for the first time to more unusual concerns, such as mastering the art of floating. How do you find your bearings when there is no up and down? What is it like to run in weightlessness? And how do you cook in space?This is an enthralling, inspiring and surprisingly down-to-earth story about what it really takes to pursue your dreams.

By: Samantha Cristoforetti
Imprint: Allen Lane
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 162mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 621g
ISBN: 9780241371381
ISBN 10: 0241371384
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 18 November 2020
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Samantha Cristoforetti is an Italian European Space Agency astronaut, Air Force pilot and engineer. She holds the record for the longest uninterrupted spaceflight of a European astronaut (199 days and 16 hours).

Reviews for Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut

Cristoforetti rocks. . . being awesome is part of the job. . . She belongs to a new category of astronauts who are just as adept at posting a witty Facebook post as they are at performing a science experiment in minimal gravity * Wired * Fantastic. . . for anyone who has any interest in space exploration whatsoever -- Robin Ince Samantha Cristoforetti is remarkable. . . a brilliant book -- Jeremy Vine * BBC Radio 2 * From the mundane to the sublime in a second. . . full of illuminating observations from what Cristoforetti calls the 'cosmic perspective ' * Guardian *