Astronaut Parmitano mooted to fly to ISS (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, December 2 - Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano has been proposed for a return flight to the INternational Space Station in 2019 and a final decision will be made in spring 2017, European Space Agency (ESA) Director-General Jan Woerner told ESA's ministerial conference in Lucerne Friday. Parmitano, 39, completed a five-and-a-half-month stint on the ISS in November 2013 in which he became the first Italian to walk in space and the youngest astronaut in history to perform a long-term mission. The second of his two space walks was interrupted in July when water leaked through his suit and into the helmet, soaking his eyes, nose and mouth, but Parmitano's calm response to the situation enabled him to get back to safety on the ISS.