Österreichisches Weltraum Forum Austrian Space Forum
Analog Astronauts
Analog astronauts are specifically trained spacesuit tester. After an extensive selection process they run through a several month long basic training. Analog astronauts are used for technical tests and Mars simulations.
OeWF analog astronauts are specifically trained for the OeWF Mars spacesuit simulator “Aouda” and are assigned “in analogy to” future human (Mars) expeditions for preparatory research and development projects.
This article is available in: German
Dr. Gernot Groemer
Analog Astronaut since 2003
Mars-Simulations: MDRS Crew 11 + 47 (AustroMars), MARS2013 Morocco, AMADEE-18. 12 missions in total.
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 13 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.
This article is available in: German
Dr. Stefan Dobrovolny
Analog Astronaut since 2015
Mars-Simulations: AMADEE-15, AMADEE-18
EVA hours: > 31 h
Career: Born 1990, originally from Mürzsteg, Styria he studied medicine at the Medical University in Vienna. In his free time he is volunteering as paramedic at the Red Cross Austria as well as at the Austrian Mountain Rescue Team, where he is not only in charge of the medical training and of medical equipment but also is trained Squad Leader. He speaks german, english, as well as some swedish and spanish.
This article is available in: German
Dr. Carmen Köhler
Analog Astronaut since 2015
Mars-Simulations: AMADEE-15, AMADEE-18, AMADEE-20
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.
This article is available in: German
João Lousada, MSc
Analog Astronaut since 2015
Mars-Simulations: AMADEE-15, AMADEE-18, AMADEE-20
EVA hours: > 47 h
Career: João Lousada was born in Portugal in 1989. He completed his master’s degree in aerospace engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico of Lisbon and wrote his master thesis at the University of Victoria, Canada, on satellite attitude determination and control. He currently is a flight director for the ISS Columbus project and as such has led several ESA missions and projects, in particular the Alpha mission of Thomas Pesquet and the Minerva mission of Samantha Cristoforetti. Before, he worked as engineer on the Meteosat Third Generation project for ESA. He is an active member of the International Astronautical Federation’s Human Spaceflight Committee and Young Professionals Program Committee, as well an alumnus of the Space Generation Advisory Council, where he was elected regional coordinator for Europe. He is a certified private pilot, skydiver and master SCUBA diver. He is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese, and has conversational proficiency in German.
This article is available in: German
Iñigo Muñoz Elorza, MSc
Analog Astronaut since 2015
Mars-Simulations: AMADEE-15, AMADEE-18, AMADEE-20
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.
This article is available in: German
Dr. Adam Crellin
Analog Astronaut since 2019
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.
This article is available in: German
Dr. Adrianos Golemis
Analog Astronaut since 2019
Mars-Simulations: –
EVA hours: 0.5 h
Career: Born in 1987 in Greece, Adrianos Golemis studied medicine at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and subsequently attained his Master’s degree on Space Studies from the International Space University in France. He currently is a Flight Surgeon at the European Astronaut Centre, monitoring astronaut’s health in spaceflight. Through MEDES, the French Institute for Space Medicine and Physiology, he is also engaged in research in this area and has spent one year at Concordia Research Station in Antarctica as a research doctor for ESA studying human physiology and psychology in extreme environments. He holds a pilot’s, diving and sailing license. He is fluent in Greek, English and French, speaks German and has a basic knowledge of Italian.
This article is available in: German
Anika Mehlis
Analog Astronaut since 2019
Mars-Simulations: AMADEE-20
EVA hours: >18 h
Career: Born in 1981 in Germany, Anika Mehlis studied biology with a focus on microbiology at the Free University of Berlin, as well as engineering for environmental technology and recycling at the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau. After finishing her PhD studies recently in Public Health at Bielefeld University, she works as a scientific officer in “infection protection and environmental medicine” for the Academy of Public Health Services Düsseldorf, Germany. During her second university degree, she worked as chemical-technical assistant at an environmental lab and as lecturer for biology at the University of Cooperative Education Plauen. She spent several years as a team lead in a public health department. Mehlis is fluent in German and English and has basic knowledge of French and Spanish.
This article is available in: German
Dr. Simone Paternostro
Analog Astronaut since 2019
Mars-Simulations: –
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
This article is available in: German
Alon Tenzer
Analog Astronaut since 2019
Mars-Simulations: AMADEE-20
EVA hours: > 8 h
Career: Born in 1985 in Israel, Alon Tenzer completed a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, computer science and aviation science at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev as well as a master’s degree in neuroscience at the Weizmann-Institute of Science in Israel. He currently works as a senior Al engineer in Singapore, building artificial-intelligence-based solutions for various companies and co-leading the department specializing in Natural Language Processing. Tenzer is a veteran of the Israeli Air Force, where among other operational positions he served as a software developer & team leader. He also worked as a researcher and data-scientist at the Weizmann-Institute of Science. He is a certified Scuba-diver, skydiver and commercial pilot. He is fluent in both Hebrew and English and has a basic proficiency in French and Chinese.
This article is available in: German
Dr. Thomas Wijnen
Analog Astronaut since 2019
Mars-Simulations: AMADEE-20
EVA hours: > 10 h
Career: Born in the Netherlands in 1986, Thomas Wijnen completed his bachelor’s degree 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 a captain in the Royal Netherlands Air Force Reserve and still engages in projects on space situational awareness for the Dutch Space Security Center. He works as instrumentation coordinator for NOVA, the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy, coordinating the many instrumentation projects in which the Netherlands’ astronomical community is involved. 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.
This article is available in: German
Dr. Robert Wild
Analog Astronaut since 2019
Mars-Simulations: AMADEE-20
EVA hours: > 13 h
Career: Born in 1982, from Innsbruck, Robert Wild completed his bachelor’s degree in physics at the University of Arizona and his PhD in physics at the University of Colorado. Dr. Wild’s research topics have included matter wave diffraction, the quantum mechanics of ultracold atoms, and laser-based trace gas detection. Currently, he is a senior scientist at the University of Innsbruck with a focus on laboratory studies of interstellar ions. He has published in numerous scientific journals including Nature. He is a trained Wilderness First Responder and Advanced Open Water Diver. Wild fluently speaks English and German and has good command of Spanish.
This article is available in: German
Liad Yosef
Analog Astronaut since 2019
Mars-Simulations: –
EVA hours: 0.5 h
Career: Liad Yosef, born in 1984, is from Israel. He completed his bachelor’s degrees in mathematics at the Hebrew University Jerusalem and in economics at the Tel Aviv University as well as a recent master’s degree in behavioral economics at the Reichman University. He served in the Israeli Air Force (Talpiot Project) in the rank of Captain. In 2018 he took part in the ISU Space Studies Program which aims for international cooperation in space related fields and activities. Currently he is lead architect of frontend at Duda Inc, a web design platform. He has a deep understanding of artificial intelligence acquired through experience and numerous study programs. Yosef is fluent in Hebrew and English and has good knowledge of Spanish.
This article is available in: German