Analog Astronauts

Mars-Simulations: MDRS Crew 11 + 47 (AustroMars), MARS2013 Morocco, AMADEE-18.
EVA hours: > 114 h
Career: Born in 1975 in Linz, Austria, Gernot Groemer studied astrophysics at the University of Innsbruck with a PhD focusing on Mars Astrobiology & Spacesuits. He is an alumnus of the International Space University (SSP97, Houston/Texas), where he later worked as a teaching assistant in the Space Physical Sciences Department in Cleveland/Ohio. Dr. Groemer is one of the founding members of the Space Generation Advisory Council, where he now serves in the Board of Mentors. He was on active duty in the emergency services for 30 years as a paramedic (NFS-NKI) of the Austrian Red Cross, paramedic instructor, and in a Red Cross mission to Azerbaijan. So far, he served as a crew member/field commander, or in a leadership position for 14 Mars analog field missions and flew on the 37th European Space Agency parabolic flight campaign. Dr. Groemer currently serves as the Director of the Austrian Space Forum, teaches at various universities, and is engaged in various professional scientific organizations. He speaks German, English, and basic French.

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Mars-Simulations: AMADEE-15, AMADEE-18, AMADEE-20, AMADEE-24
EVA hours: > 39 h
Career: Carmen Köhler was born in 1980 in Berlin, Germany. After training as a hairdresser, Dr. Carmen Köhler studied math and earned her doctorate in physics. Today, she works at the Basque Centre for Climate Change, where she is the team manager in Artificial Intelligence for Environment and Sustainability. She is also the founder and CEO of P³R GmbH, which provides weather and earth observation data services. Köhler is fluent in German, English and Spanish and speaks Italian and French.

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Mars-Simulations: AMADEE-15, AMADEE-18, AMADEE-20, AMADEE-24
EVA hours: >62 h
Career: Iñigo Muñoz Elorza was born in Spain in 1979. He studied economics at the DHBW in Karlsruhe, aerospace engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, and later he got his master’s degree in astronomy and astrophysics from the Valencian International University. Currently he is the evolution and engineering manager at Spaceopal, dealing with all the segment upgrades to enable the Galileo Service Operator activities. Throughout his career he has worked in aerial and space related projects, e.g. as project manager at HIFSA and operations engineer at E-USOC in Madrid as well as training manager at the Galileo Control Center and was also an astronaut instructor at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne. He is fluent in Spanish, German, English and speaks Italian. He is a certified skydiver, paraglider pilot, and diver.

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Mars-Simulations: –
EVA hours: 2 h
Career: Adam Crellin was born in Whitehaven, UK, in 1993. He studied medicine and surgery at the University of Oxford, having previously obtained degrees in biomedical sciences and space physiology and health at Newcastle University and King’s College London, respectively. A strong advocate of UK human spaceflight activities, Adam was previously a co-founding member of the Human Spaceflight Capitalisation Office. He now works for the NHS in the North-East of England with an interest in Anesthesia, Remote Medicine, and Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine. In his spare time, Crellin enjoys travelling to extreme places, is a keen mountaineer, and a seasoned scuba diver.

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Mars-Simulations: AMADEE-24
EVA hours: 0.5 h
Career:  Born in 1986 and originally from Italy, Simone Paternostro holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, a master’s degree in space engineering as well as a 2nd level master’s degree in space transportation systems, and a PhD in engineering surveying and space geodesy. He is currently employed as a payload integration manager in ESA’s Space Research and Technology Centre where he supports the development and integration of payloads on board of the International Space Station. Previously, he worked at EADS Astrium (now Airbus Group), followed by a research position at the Institute for Aerospace Technology at the University of Nottingham, UK. Paternostro speaks Italian and English fluently and has a basic knowledge of German and Dutch

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Mars-Simulations: AMADEE-20, AMADEE-24
EVA hours: > 10 h
Career: Born in the Netherlands in 1986, Dr. Wijnen completed his bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and Physics & Astronomy at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. Followed by a research internship at the Universidad de Valparaiso, Chile, a master’s degree with distinction, and a PhD in Astrophysics, he has been captain in the Royal Netherlands Air Force Reserve and engages in projects on space situational awareness for the Dutch Space Security Center. He works as instrumentation coordinator for NOVA, Netherlands Research School for Astronomy, coordinating the many instrumentation projects in which the Dutch astronomical community is involved. Dr. Wijnen holds a PADI scuba-diving and a parachute license and is fluent in Dutch and English. His language skills include intermediate Spanish as well as basic French and German.

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Mars-Simulations: –
EVA hours: –
Career:  Born in 1989 in Jerusalem, Israel, Renana Bruckstein earned a B.Sc. in Marine Science with distinction before studying medicine at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, where she now also conducts research in space physiology. She currently works as a medical doctor. Beyond medicine and science, Renana has a strong background in high-performance environments. She completed her military service as a combat fitness trainer and later worked as a stunt performer and stunt trainer. She holds black belts in Kickboxing and Jiu Jitsu and competed as part of the German MMA National Team. She is also a certified PADI Divemaster and has sailed in the Caribbean and across the Atlantic Ocean. Renana is fluent in German, Hebrew, , and English, and also has good knowledge of Spanish and French.

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Mars-Simulations: –
EVA hours: –
Career: Originally from London, Olivia Drayson holds a BA in Physics from Balliol College, Oxford University and a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering from ISAE-Supaero in Toulouse, France. For her Master’s thesis, she led a team of students in developing an experiment for the ISS that investigated the effect of microgravity on blood flow using artificial arteries. She completed her PhD in Environmental Toxicology from the University of California, Irvine where she studied the biological effects of ionizing radiation on the brain with particular focus on mitigating damage to healthy tissue caused by radiotherapy. She currently works as a postdoctoral researcher at GSI Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. Her research involves studying how the space radiation environment impacts the brain using the Galactic Cosmic Radiation simulator at GSI. She was the crew science officer for the 2023 analogue space mission to FMARS in Northern Canada and is a committee member of CHASM (the Community of Human Analogue Space Missions).

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Mars-Simulations: –
EVA hours: –
Career: Arfor Houwman (born 1996, UK) grew up in the Netherlands and earned a BA in Liberal Arts & Sciences from University College Utrecht, followed by an MSc in Theoretical Physics in Paris, France. He then moved to Innsbruck, Austria, where he is pursuing a PhD in experimental quantum physics with a focus on ultracold atoms. As part of the PhD, he has published several peer‑reviewed articles and is actively involved in science communication to broader audiences. He holds licenses for gliding, paragliding and scuba diving, and speaks Dutch, German, English, and Spanish, with working knowledge of French.

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Mars-Simulations: –
EVA hours: –
Career: Born in 2000, Nathan is a British-Italian national who completed his undergraduate degree in physics at The University of Manchester, but followed the peculiar route toward a PhD in Aerospace Palaeomimicry. He scans fossils to look for evolutionary adaptations that might help make better engineering structures – 400 million years is enough time to solve any problem. In human spaceflight, Nathan has worked on lunar radiation shielding for ESA, served as Communications Officer on Asclepios V, and participated in the World’s Biggest Analog in the Eurohab. In his free time, Nathan’s core passion is storytelling, with weekly visits to the cinema, playing tabletop role-playing games, and a range of board games. He is fluent in English and Italian, with basic knowledge of French and German.

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