He assures that to be an astronaut “you don’t have to be a genius in Mathematics or Physics”: “You have to be versatile and multifaceted”
July 2 () –
The Spanish astronaut Pablo Álvarez Fernández (León, 1988) selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) has defended the creation of the Spanish Space Agency, whose headquarters are in Seville.
“It seems to me a step forward in the space sector,” said the Spanish astronaut in an interview with Europa Press, who began his training on April 3 at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne where he will have to complete twelve-month training.
For Pablo Álvarez, it was “necessary for Spanish space policy to be unified in a single body, instead of having it divided among multiple ministries, the CDTI and INTA”. “There are other countries around us such as Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom or Poland that are in the ESA and have their own agency,” he adds.
On the occasion of the early holding of general elections and the formation of a new government, the Leonese calls for greater investment in science because “it means investing in the future, it creates jobs, generates long-term wealth and improves everyone’s lives.”
Thus, he highlights the fact that in Spain “there are many very good researchers, but it is necessary that they have adequate working conditions, access to financing and reduce bureaucratic barriers so that they can dedicate themselves to research and not to managing documentation “.
GETTING TO THE EUROPEAN LEVEL OF INVESTMENT IN R&D
In this context, Álvarez recalls that in 2022 Spain invested 1.5 of its Gross Domestic Product in R&D, while Germany invested around 3% and the average in the European Union is 2.3%. “I think it’s important to catch up with the rest of Europe,” he warns.
When asked about the possibility of humans traveling to Mars in 2040, the astronaut stresses the importance of setting “relatively complex goals that pose a scientific and technological challenge.”
However, he warns that “milestones must be met little by little”. “And, above all, we have a lot to learn on the Moon before going further, the challenge is immense. I would be delighted, as long as it was technically possible and that the plan on that trip was to return to Earth! But I’ve only been here for three months! training!”, indicates in reference to the possibility that he traveled to the red planet.
PREPARE TO TRAVEL TO SPACE FROM 2026
The first astronaut of Pablo Álvarez’s generation will fly into space at the beginning of 2026. At the moment, the missions of the Spaniard and his companions are scheduled to be to the International Space Station and with an estimated duration of six months.
Álvarez considers that the “most important” of these missions “is the scientific return”, so his dream mission would be one in which he would contribute to “finding a cure for some disease or improving the conditions of those who suffer from it” and many of the experiments on the International Space Station “go in that direction.”
A trip to space has, according to the ESA astronaut, “multiple faces”, since there is a technological and scientific part, one for dissemination and another for exploration and adventure. “But nothing can
surpass the experience of seeing the Earth from space!”, he remarks.
Regarding his relationship with his teammates and the fields in which he stands out from them, Álvarez specifies that “everyone is so good that it is extremely difficult to stand out in something”. “But the most important thing is not to excel at something, the most important thing is not to have any obvious weaknesses or something that you’re exceptionally bad at, and that’s what they’ve been looking for in all the tests of the process. You don’t have to be a genius at Mathematics, Physics or multitasking, you have to be versatile and multifaceted,” he says.
“We get along great and, far from what you might think or the typical image we have of astronauts, the environment is not competitive at all. It helps to know that in principle we are all going to fly and that the order does not necessarily depend on who he is better in one activity or another. Besides, they are all exceptional people!”, he celebrates.
SPACE FOOD “IS NOT AS TERRIBLE AS MANY PEOPLE IMAGINE”
In his almost three months of training, the astronaut has already received “some basic notions” of space nutrition. “Space food has gotten a lot better in recent years, and while I’m going to miss a lot about Earth, it’s not as terrible as many people imagine,” he says.
Due to the changes in human metabolism in space, Álvarez highlights the importance of “maintaining a balanced diet, taking the appropriate supplements if necessary and, not least, the social part and being able to sit at a table to eat with the expedition companions”.
An astronaut, according to the Spaniard, “has to master many disciplines”, so during the first year in Cologne they must receive generic training in all of them and that they all get “at the same pace in everything” since each one has very different experiences, as pilots, engineers or doctors.
Among other things, he has taken classes in Medicine, History of Human Flight, Biology, Human Performance, Physiology, Space Flight Psychology, Photography and some more practical disciplines like scuba diving to prepare for future extravehicular activity training. “Physical preparation is also very important,” she specifies.
DRAW BLOOD, SCUBA DIVE OR A PSYCHOLOGY CLASS
The most complicated part of training at ESA for the Spanish astronaut “is managing the amount of information on different subjects” that they have to master. “It could be that in the same day you have to learn how to draw blood, go scuba diving, go to a class on space stations and finish with a psychology class. And yes, we have exams too!” He points out.
In case they need it, the astronauts also have psychological support and, once they are assigned a mission, they repeat all the emergency procedures “over and over again” so that the day they have to fly seems “just another day in the office”.
Despite the intense training he is receiving, the Spaniard has time to disconnect and dedicate time to leisure, so he has already been able to explore Colonia and its surroundings and is planning a trip to the Picos de Europa. “There is time for everything, it is also important to maintain a balance between your private and professional life”, he highlights.
Referring to the use of Artificial Intelligence in the aerospace sector, the astronaut stressed that this technology “is here to stay and will have an impact on all sectors”, so that aerospace “is no stranger to it”: ” From its impact on the most industrial part, autonomous vehicles, improved security systems, air and space traffic control…”.
However, at the moment they have not received any specific training in Artificial Intelligence, but Álvarez anticipates that “it will surely have an impact” on the development of his career.
