Reaching half-time at my internship with the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF), it is now my turn to tell you more about it. But first some facts about me: I am Sofia Rosa Puleo from Vienna, 19 years old and will begin my studies in October.

Sofia Rosa Puleo, Intern © OeWF

During my gap year I did a voluntary service in Thailand and thought about pursuing my interest in astrophysics. Since I wrote my pre-scientific research paper about the element synthesis in stars and was lucky enough to experience a week at the NASA space camp in Huntsville, Alabama, I decided to apply for an internship at the OeWF.

After getting accepted for the internship, I got really hiked and asked if there was any way to prepare myself for the internship. Thus I participated in the Analog Mission Basic Training (AMBT) and then in the Analog Mission Advanced Training (AMAT), which were not necessary for the internship but for participating at the upcoming AMADEE-18 mission. Therefore I already gained a good insight in the structure of the OeWF and what to expect.

Fire Fighting Training © OeWF (Olivia Haider)

In my first week during the internship I already had the chance to participate in a press conference of the OeWF in cooperation with Mattro. Mattro builds the Ziesel and this track vehicle will be used in the desert of Oman for the upcoming AMADEE mission. Afterwards even I got the chance to drive with the Ziesel for once, which was great. In the end everyone who drove with it had the so called “Ziesel smile” on his or her face. Additionally, I could also attend a fire fighting course. It was a perfect opportunity to finally learn how to behave in such emergencies, because we not only addressed the fire situation practically (which was pretty cool, by the way) but we, of course, also learned theoretically about different types of fires and their extinguishers.

Analog astronaut Carmen Köhler wearing her “Ziesel Smile” © OeWF (Paul Santek)

Shortly after, on the weekend the first dress rehearsal for AMADEE-18 was just around the corner. These dress rehearsals are necessary for going through procedures, risk avoidance and are in general essential for mission preparation. Since I am part of the Flight Planning Team, I got the chance to create my first own flight plan with Nina Sejkora, attended presentations about further mission procedures and took measurements from the analog astronauts for the Aouda space suit simulators. Though what I like most about these weekend gatherings are that you then actually see the variety of international members who are part of the OeWF and enjoy the intercultural, informative as well as funny conversations.

The beautiful 3D Printer Prusa i3 Hephestos © OeWF

Furthermore I got the possibility to take part in a 3D printing course, which was very useful and interesting. Actually, it was one of my favourite parts about the internship until now. However, I also had to do some less exciting parts like cleaning or the usual administrative work. But apart from that I am fortunate to do this internship, since you will always have a project to work on. This weekend for instance the European Mars Conference (EMC17) was held in Innsbruck, where space hobbyist participated together with space experts to learn more about Mars, exchange experiences, information and views. So I am quite curious what else I will experience in the next days.