Luca Parmitano facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Luca Parmitano
OMRI |
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Parmitano at the Expedition 60 press conference in July 2019
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| Born | 27 September 1976 Paternò, Sicily
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| Status | Active |
| Occupation | Pilot, Italian Air Force |
| Space career | |
| ESA astronaut | |
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Previous occupation
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Test Pilot |
| Rank | Colonel |
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Time in space
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366 days 23 hours 01 minute |
| Selection | 2009 ESA Group |
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Total EVAs
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6 |
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Total EVA time
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33 hours, 09 minutes |
| Missions | Soyuz TMA-09M (Expedition 36/37), Soyuz MS-13 (Expedition 60/61) |
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Mission insignia
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Luca Parmitano, born on September 27, 1976, in Paternò, Sicily, is a brave Italian astronaut. He works for the European Space Agency (ESA) as part of the European Astronaut Corps. Luca was chosen to be an ESA astronaut in May 2009. He is also a high-ranking officer, a colonel, and a special test pilot for the Italian Air Force. Luca Parmitano made history as the first Italian and third European to lead the International Space Station (ISS) during his Expedition 61 mission.
Contents
About Luca Parmitano
Luca Parmitano grew up in Catania, Italy. He has two daughters. He enjoys many exciting hobbies like scuba diving, snowboarding, skydiving, and swimming. He also likes to read books and listen to or play music.
Luca Parmitano's Education and Training
Luca Parmitano finished high school in Catania, Italy, in 1995. He spent a year in California, USA, as an exchange student in 1993.
In 1999, he earned a master's degree in political sciences from the University of Naples Federico II in Italy. He wrote his final paper on international law. The next year, in 2000, he graduated from the Italian Accademia Aeronautica, which is an air force academy.
Luca completed his basic pilot training with the U.S. Air Force in Texas, USA, in 2001. He also took a special course in Germany in 2002 to learn about joint operations. In 2003, he became an expert in electronic warfare in Italy. He also completed a Tactical Leadership Programme in Belgium in 2005.
In July 2009, Luca earned another master's degree in experimental flight test engineering in France. This was part of his training to become a test pilot.
Special Awards and Recognition
In 2007, Luca Parmitano received a special award called the Silver Medal of Aeronautic Valor from the President of Italy. He earned this award for safely landing his AMX aircraft after it was hit by a bird during a flight emergency.
There is even an asteroid named after him, called 37627 Lucaparmitano.
Luca Parmitano's Career as a Pilot
Luca Parmitano is a Colonel in the Italian Air Force and an astronaut for the European Space Agency. He has flown for more than 2,000 hours and is qualified to fly over 20 different types of military aircraft, including both airplanes and helicopters. He has actually flown over 40 different types of aircraft in total.
After finishing his pilot training in 2001, Luca flew the AMX aircraft in Italy until 2007. During this time, he became highly skilled in flying this aircraft, leading groups of planes, and commanding missions. He also served as the chief of training and a flight commander.
In 2007, the Italian Air Force chose him to become a test pilot. He completed his training at a special French test pilot school in Istres.
Luca Parmitano's Time at ESA
In May 2009, Luca Parmitano was selected as an ESA astronaut. He was part of the 2009 group of new astronauts.
In 2014, he took part in ESA's CAVES training, where astronauts learn to explore caves. This training helps them prepare for space missions. In July 2015, Luca became an aquanaut, leading a crew in the NEEMO 20 mission, which involves living underwater to simulate space conditions.
In 2016, Luca participated in the first ESA PANGAEA mission, which focuses on geological training for astronauts. In May 2017, he also took part in a CAVES expedition in Sicily, exploring hot caves.
Expedition 36 and 37: Volare Mission
In February 2011, Luca was assigned to a long mission on the International Space Station, called Expedition 36 and 37. He launched into space aboard the Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft on May 28, 2013, and arrived at the ISS the next day. His mission was named Volare, which means "to fly" in Italian. This name reminds people of a very famous Italian song.
In May 2013, Luca worked with a 15-year-old girl named Abigail Harrison. She helped share Luca's experiences of living in space with her online community and blog, where she is known as "Astronaut Abby."
On July 9, 2013, Luca Parmitano became the first Italian to perform a spacewalk. He and astronaut Chris Cassidy went outside the ISS to install power cables, collect research samples, and do maintenance. During this spacewalk, Luca also rode on the ISS's robotic arm. This spacewalk was part of preparing for a new Russian module on the ISS. A picture Luca took of himself during this spacewalk was even called one of the best space photos of the year.
His second spacewalk on July 16, 2013, had to end early after only 1 hour and 32 minutes. Water started filling the helmet of his spacesuit, which was very dangerous. Engineers later found that a filter in his suit was blocked, causing water from the cooling system to back up. Luca returned to Earth on November 11, 2013.
Expedition 60 and 61: Commanding the ISS
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In May 2018, ESA announced that Luca Parmitano would return to the space station. He launched on July 20, 2019, aboard the Soyuz MS-13 mission. He served as a Flight Engineer on Expedition 60 and then became the Commander of Expedition 61.
On August 13, 2019, Luca became the first DJ in space! He played electronic music from the ISS for a music festival audience in Ibiza.
On November 15, 2019, he went outside the ISS for a spacewalk for the first time since his earlier incident in 2013. This was the first of at least four spacewalks to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a scientific instrument on the ISS. Luca Parmitano performed these spacewalks with NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan. They were helped by NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, who operated the robotic arm from inside the station. These spacewalks were very difficult, described as the "most challenging since Hubble repairs." It was the first time astronauts had to cut and reconnect cooling lines in space. The repair of the AMS was completed after four spacewalks. During the last spacewalk, Luca found and fixed a small leak in one of the AMS cooling lines.
Expedition 61 finished when the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft landed on February 6, 2020. Luca Parmitano, Aleksandr Skvortsov, and Christina Koch were on board.
See also
In Spanish: Luca Parmitano para niños
