Colonel Luca Parmitano is an Italian astronaut in the European Astronaut Corps for the European Space Agency. He was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009.
Parmitano is also a Colonel and test pilot for the Italian Air Force. Parmitano is the youngest non-Russian astronaut to undertake a long-duration mission, at 36 years and eight months old on the launch day of his mission.