Spanish astronauts Sara García Alonso and Pablo Álvarez Fernández were chosen from thousands of candidates to become members of the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2022.
An aeronautical engineer with a master's degree in aerospace engineering, Pablo Álvarez Fernández was one of five professional astronauts selected to join the ESA. Before that, he worked on the ExoMars rover, which is set to explore the surface of the red planet. If all goes to plan, he will be the next Spanish national to travel into space and live at the International Space Station, which could happen very soon.
As for Sara García Alonso, she is a member of the ESA Astronaut Reserve, and the first Spanish woman to achieve this. A scientist, author, and communicator, Sara holds a bachelor's degree in biotechnology, a master's degree in biomedical and biological research, and a PhD in Molecular Biology. She has won many awards and leads pioneering projects to discover new treatments for lung and pancreatic cancer at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO).
We had the chance to chat with Sara and Pablo before their joint seminar at Contemporánea Condeduque, in Madrid. During our conversation, they told us about their careers up until becoming astronauts, the intense training process they have undergone and their potential future missions, as well as the ways in which space exploration can improve life back on Earth.
