As a young test pilot, Luca Parmitano from Italy was lucky enough to join ESA’s Astronaut Corps in 2009. He was subsequently selected to be the first of ESA’s new astronauts to fly into orbit – fulfilling his childhood ambitions. Having trained internationally – including periods spent in the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne and Star City in Moscow – he’ll shortly be embarking upon a six-month stay onboard the International Space Station.