Pablo Álvarez Fernández | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Álvarez Fernández in 2022 | |
| Born | (1988-12-23)23 December 1988 (age 36) León, Spain |
| Education |
|
| Occupation(s) | Engineer, Astronaut |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Airbus (2020–) |
| Space career | |
| ESAastronaut | |
| Selection | 2022 ESA Group |
Pablo Álvarez Fernández (born 1988) is a Spanishaeronautical engineer andastronaut.[1][2] In November 2022, he was selected by theEuropean Space Agency (ESA) as a full astronaut in theclass of 2022[3][4] and it was in April 2024 when he graduated as such.[2]
Born in León, his family comes fromOmaña, specifically from Sabugo and Garueña.[5] In 2009, he graduated in aeronautical engineering from theUniversity of León and in 2011 he obtained a master's degree in aerospace engineering from theWarsaw Institute of Technology. Between 2011 and 2017 he worked as a structural engineer on several aviation programs forAirbus andSafran in Spain, the United Kingdom and France, where he was involved in projects such as theA350, theA380, theBoeing 777 and theCOMAC C919.[6][7]
Between 2017 and 2020 he worked as a mechanical architect for theRosalind Franklin rover of theExoMars mission atAirbus Defence and Space in the United Kingdom, where he was responsible of the design and development of the structure and the installation of the different scientific instruments with which the vehicle is equipped, as well as its integration into the landing platform, in addition to being a test director during the environmental test campaign. He also worked on the design, development and testing of the different seals of theExoMars rover to avoid biological contamination.[7]
In 2020, he joined Airbus Spain as aproject manager. In November 2022, he was selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) as a member of its2022 astronaut promotion, in which the LeoneseSara García Alonso was also selected.[8]
On 22 April 2024, he graduated as an astronaut from the ESA inCologne, where he trained for a year, among a class of more than 22,500 candidates. Thus, he became the second Spanish astronaut and the first in 31 years since the graduation ofPedro Duque in 1993.[2]
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