- The Spaniard will be one of the five astronauts selected by ESA to travel to the International Space Station by 2030
- The event will be held from March 17 to 21, 2025, with two face-to-face sessions at the Cartuja Auditorium -managed by Yventu- and three virtual sessions
Spanish astronaut Pablo Álvarez will be the star of the opening day of ‘New Space & Solutions’, which will turn Seville into the Space capital from March 17 to 21. The Cartuja Auditorium – managed by Yventu – will host the two face-to-face sessions of this event, which will also include three virtual sessions.
On Monday, March 17, Pablo Álvarez will be present at the auditorium of the Cartuja Science and Technology Park (PCT Cartuja) together with Juan Carlos Cortés, director of the Spanish Space Agency (AEE), who will give a conference as the speaker of honor of the first edition of ‘New Space & Solutions’.
Pablo Álvarez, an aerospace engineer and astronaut at the European Space Agency (ESA), will share his experience in space exploration with attendees and talk about the future of manned missions, research and space technology. The well-known astronaut, one of the five career astronauts selected by ESA to travel to the International Space Station before 2030, will be available to answer questions from the media present at the event.
Pablo Álvarez arrives in the Andalusian capital after participating in one of the most important technology fairs worldwide, the MWC in Barcelona. This coming week, the Spanish astronaut will be in the Andalusian capital thanks to this pioneering event in which the City Council of Seville and the Junta de Andalucía collaborate, thus reaffirming the institutional commitment to the aerospace sector.
Pablo Álvarez is currently participating in the development of the Gateway lunar station and is preparing for his training with the Canadarm, the robotic arm of the ISS, in Canada. His goal is his first flight to the International Space Station (ISS) for a long duration mission before 2030.
After completing his basic astronaut training at ESA in 2024, and an intensive EVA training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, this year Pablo will be heading back to Cologne, where his most imminent challenge will be to train as a Eurocom, i.e. the person in charge of communicating with the astronauts on the International Space Station.
In addition, he will begin his training as an aviation pilot and could be part of a scientific expedition in the ocean, financed by the ESA, where satellite measurements will be combined with in situ studies. All this with the aim of being as well prepared as possible for the moment he describes as “the most complicated and exciting” that awaits him: his first space walk, “the dream of any astronaut”.
Second Spanish ESA astronaut in history
Pablo Álvarez, along with Sara García, member of ESA’s Astronaut Reserve, are the only astronauts of Spanish nationality. A privilege that he carries with “a lot of responsibility”, as he is aware that both are an example for many generations, mainly the younger ones.
On April 22, 2024, he graduated as an ESA astronaut in Cologne among a class of more than 22,500 candidates. He thus became the second Spanish astronaut and the first in 31 years since the graduation of Pedro Duque in 1993, who was the first astronaut representing Spanish nationality to travel to Space. During this time, Michael Lopez-Alegria, born in Spain and of Spanish-American nationality, has also participated in several space missions, although always under the U.S. flag. This veteran astronaut of Spanish origin will also participate in ‘New Space & Solutions’ with a live connection from Houston during the second day in person.
Pablo Álvarez he recognizes he is “more than ready” to fly to space: “I have been told that going into Space and seeing the Earth is an image that will stay with me forever”, he recently acknowledged in an interview.
Before 2030 he will travel to the International Space Station, which in his view represents “a symbol of international cooperation”: “It is the most complex machine ever built by human beings. It is more than 300 tons that we have managed to put in space to make a unique laboratory in the world”, he remarked a few weeks ago to the media.
All presentations will be available for viewing on demand through El Observatorio, the digital platform of Medina Media Events, where each conference will be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, free of charge.
The first edition of ‘New Space & Solutions’ is organized by Medina Media Events with the collaboration of the City of Seville and the Ministry of University, Research and Innovation of the Andalusian Government and has the support of Rohde & Schwarz, ALTER, Ansys, Augusta Abogados, CT Ingenieros, DEKRA, Integrasys, Kistler, Orbital EOS, PARSEC, Proexca (Government of the Canary Islands), Space-Aero, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, CEU Universidad Fernando III, among others.