The inspiring memoir of the superstar astronaut and TikTok sensation - now on her biggest space
mission yet '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.
