Luca Parmitano, born in Paternò, Italy, on 27 September 1976, is an Italian Air Force colonel and ESA astronaut, married with two daughters, with interests ranging from endurance sports to music and scuba diving. Educated in political science, military aviation, and experimental flight test engineering, he became a highly experienced pilot and test pilot, logging over 2000 flight hours on more than 40 aircraft types and earning major national honours for aeronautical valour. Selected as an ESA astronaut in 2009, Parmitano flew two long-duration missions to the International Space Station (2013 and 2019–2020), spending a total of 367 days in space, conducting numerous scientific experiments, and completing six spacewalks totaling over 33 hours. During his second mission, Beyond, he made history as the first Italian and third European commander of the ISS, led complex repairs of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, and supported hundreds of European and international experiments while also engaging the public through unique outreach events from orbit. Courtesy of ESA.