Starmus La Palma
Pablo Álvarez Fernández, born in 1988 in León, Spain, is a prominent aerospace engineer and astronaut candidate with the European Space Agency (ESA). He holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of León and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Warsaw University of Technology. Álvarez has a diverse background in engineering, having worked on various aircraft programs for Airbus and Safran across Spain, the UK, and France.
From 2017 to 2020, Álvarez served as a mechanical architect for the ExoMars rover at Airbus Defence and Space in the UK. His responsibilities included developing integration procedures for the radioisotope heater unit in collaboration with ROSCOSMOS and ESA, as well as designing and testing bioseals to prevent biological contamination. Before his selection as an ESA astronaut candidate in November 2022, he worked as a Project Manager for Airbus operations in Spain.
In April 2023, Álvarez began his basic astronaut training at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre, completing it in April 2024. His training has prepared him for future spaceflight assignments, marking him as a key figure in the next generation of European astronauts
