The mission simulating life on Mars will take place in the months of October-November at Mitzpe Ramon
The Austrian Space Forum announced today (Thursday 12.3.2020) 9 analog astronauts who will lead the AMADEE 2020 mission that will be held in Ramon Crater. The international team consists of representatives from Portugal, Germany, Spain, Holland, Austria, Greece and Israel. The analog astronauts were selected from dozens of international candidates who came to the Austrian Space Forum, which is currently the world's leading international body for analog missions simulating life on Mars. The selected team will now begin special training at the Austrian Space Forum Center in Innsbruck in preparation for the real mission in October 2020. The 9 analog astronauts will start the mission team consisting of 6 people and 3 more who will be in the backup team. The 2 teams will go through the exact same training and be ready for the mission. If one of the team members cannot participate or complete the task, one of the backup team will take his place.
The mission in the Ramon crater in the Negev is a first collaboration of its kind in Israel, between the Austrian Space Forum and the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Science and Technology, during which, over the course of an entire month (October-November 2020), 6 analog astronauts will conduct scientific experiments and research, while they live and work in a special structure that will be built for them that simulates life on mars During the entire period, the analog astronauts will live in isolation and cut off from "Earth" and will go on experiments while wearing special space suits. Their only connection with the earth and humans will be through a special control center that will also be established in Makhtes Ramon and will monitor their activities 24 hours a day during the entire period. The task of building the habitat (the special structure) and the control room will be carried out by the D-MARCS association, which has a lot of experience in building simulations of this type.
Avi Blasberger, Director of the Israel Space Agency at the Ministry of Science and Technology: "Our cooperation with the Austrian Forum and hosting the AMADEE 20 mission in Israel is part of our policy to support science, to participate in the international efforts of space exploration with the help of manned missions as well as the extensive activity we carry out in the field of education and accessibility Space activity for the general public. We are proud to take part in this mission and will invest all the necessary efforts to ensure its success."
Dr. Gernot Grömer, director of the Austrian Space Forum, emphasizes the international nature of the mission: "80 scientists from 12 countries developed equipment, procedures and experiments that will be tested by our analog astronauts during their 4-week stay in Israel. The participating institutions come from France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Great Britain, USA and Austria. "
Mission staff members:
1. Joao Lousada, Portugal - team leader. Already participated in 2 previous missions of the Austrian Space Forum in Austria (2015) and Baumann (2018).
2. Anika Mehlis, Germany.
3. Inigo Munoz-Elorza, Spain.
4. Alon Tanzer, Israel.
5. Thomas Wijnen, Netherlands.
6. Robert Wild (Robert Wild), Austria.
Backup team:
1. To Yaad Yosef, Israel.
2. Dr. Carmen Köhler, Germany.
3. Dr. Adrianos Golemis, Greece.
Joao Lousada, Portugal
Born in Portugal in 1989. Studied aeronautics and space engineering in Lisbon, and completed his thesis at the University of Victoria, Canada, on satellite determination and control. He worked in the integration, assembly and testing of satellites and currently works as a STRATOS Flight Controller and ISS Columbus Systems Engineer at the German Operations Center in Munich, Germany. He is currently SGAC's regional coordinator for Europe, having managed several technical projects and helped organize multiple space events for the younger generation. Losada is a certified skydiver and rescue diver. He speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and French.
Anika Mehlis, Germany
Born in 1981 in Germany. Studied biology with a focus on microbiology at the Free University of Berlin, as well as engineering for environmental technology and recycling at the Zwickau University of Applied Sciences. She is currently finishing her doctoral studies in public health at Bielefeld University and works as a team leader in the field of "environmental pollution protection and environmental medicine" at the health department in Plowen, Germany. She is the mother of three daughters. She has an open water diving license, speaks German and English and has basic knowledge of French, Spanish and Latin.
Inigo Munoz-Elorza, Spain
Born in Spain in 1979. He studied economics at the DHBW in Germany, and aeronautics and space engineering at the UPM University in Madrid, Spain, where he worked on powerful hall effect thrusters for satellites. In addition, he studied astronomy and astrophysics at the International University of Valencia, Spain. Throughout his career he has been associated with operations, aeronautical and related to space, for example as an operations engineer at E-USOC, Madrid, where he was responsible for the preparation and real-time operation of several experiments on the Columbus module (ISS), or as an astronaut instructor at the European Astronaut Center (ESA EAC) in Cologne. Today he is the director of training at the Galileo Control Center in Germany. He speaks Spanish, German, English and Italian. He is a certified parachutist, paraglider pilot and diver.
Alon Tanzer, Israel
Has a bachelor's degree in science, mathematics, computer science and aviation science at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a master's degree in neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute of Science. He served in the Air Force, where he served as a software developer and team leader, among others. Worked as a researcher and data scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Currently working as a senior AI engineer in Singapore and building artificial intelligence based solutions for various companies. He is an advanced diver in open water and with a skydiving license. He speaks Hebrew, English, French and Chinese.
Thomas Wijnen, Netherlands
Born in the Netherlands in 1986. Studied mathematics, physics and astronomy at Utrecht University. He did his doctorate in the field of astrophysics at the University of Valparaiso, Chile. Served as a captain in the Royal Netherlands Air Force. He currently works at the University of Delft in the field of satellite tracking. He has a diving license and a parachute license. Speaks Dutch, English, Spanish, French and German.
Robert Wild, Austria
Born in 1982 in Vienna. Has a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Arizona and a doctorate in physics from the University of Colorado. His research topics included wave scattering of matter, the quantum mechanics of ultracold atoms, and gas detection. Currently doing a post-doctorate in laboratory studies of interstellar ions at the University of Innsbruck. open water diver Fluent in English, German and Spanish.
Backup team:
To Yaad Yosef, Israel
Has a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and in economics from Tel Aviv University. He served in the Air Force (Talfiot project) and was discharged with the rank of captain. In 2018, he participated in ISU's space studies program. Participated in an analog Mars mission in Israel as an analog astronaut as part of the DMars organization and is now studying artificial intelligence in a study program in Israel. Speaks Hebrew, English and Spanish.
Dr. Carmen Köhler, Germany
Born in Berlin, Germany, in 1980. Studied mathematics and meteorology at the Free University of Berlin, and completed her doctorate in physics studies. She is the founder and CEO of P3R GmbH, a company working in the fields of AI programming and photovoltaics. She speaks German, English, Italian, French and Spanish.
Dr. Adrianos Golemis, Greece
Born in 1987, lives in Germany, originally from Greece. He completed his medical studies at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece. Master's degree in space studies at the International Space University in France, and short foundation courses at EASA on aviation medicine, King's College London. Participate in a 14-month program of medical research in isolated Antarctic analog studies (IPEV / ESA). Currently employed as a flight surgeon, overseeing the health of astronauts while flying in space. He speaks Greek, English, French, German and Italian.
