PLENARY 1: Monday, 2 October 15:00-15:30

B.S. Space Sciences,

B. S. Electrical Engineering,

Florida Institute of Technology

Artemis I has been the first human rated mission returning to the moon since the 70s. It has been an incredible journey and a fantastic display of what international cooperation can achieve. This presentation shows the overall mission timeline, from spacecraft integration and testing, launch and return to the Earth. Unbelievable images of the Moon and our beloved blue planet and awesome video footage from onboard the Orion spacecraft. It also explains some of the key challenges and achievements of the first Artemis mission. An inspiring view for the missions to come. We are back on the Moon!

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Glenn Research Center

Carlos Garcia-Galan is the manager of the Orion program’s European Service Module (ESM) Integration Office at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, since 2021. He brings more than 24 years of experience in human spaceflight to this role, in which he is responsible for the overall integration of the European Space Agency-developed ESM, including design activities, assembly, integration, and test with other modules of the Orion spacecraft and the Artemis missions.

A native of Malaga, Spain, Garcia-Galan joined the Orion program in 2010 at NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, serving in various key technical and management roles, including management of integrated spacecraft design and performance, mission analysis, cross-program integration, and launch and flight operations support.

Prior to joining Orion, Garcia-Galan was an International Space Station (ISS) flight controller, where he supported multiple Space Shuttle-ISS assembly flights and ISS increment operations from Mission Control in Houston and in Korolev, Russia. He also worked for Honeywell Space Systems as a technical lead developing vehicle health management technologies, including support to the Lockheed Martin team during the initial development of the Orion spacecraft.

Throughout his career, Garcia-Galan has been recognized for his achievements, including the recipient of the Honeywell Space Systems Engineer of the Year (Houston), NASA Silver Achievement Medal, Exceptional Achievement Medal, the Johnson Space Center Director’s Commendation, Orion Program Manager’s Commendation, and the Silver Snoopy Award.

Professor in Space Systems Engineering

Head of Space Advanced Concept research group

MSc. & PhD Aerospace Engineering,

ISAE-SUPAERO

PhD Aerospace Engineering,

University of Stuttgart

This synopsis envisions the future of robotic and human space exploration, with a specific focus on the Moon and Mars roadmap. It highlights the crucial connection between energy and autonomy, emphasizing the role of autonomous power systems in scientific exploration missions. The synopsis explores the challenges posed by perpetual darkness craters and lava tubes, and underscores the need for sustainable power solutions to enable these missions. Furthermore, it investigates how energy autonomy enhances surface mobility on the Moon, enabling more efficient and flexible exploration strategies. By addressing the synergy between energy and autonomy, this synopsis presents a comprehensive framework for advancing space exploration while ensuring sustainable and self-sufficient power solutions. 

Director of Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE

MSc. Physics, University of Freiburg

PhD. Physics, University of Konstanz 

Since many years photovoltaic technology was in space THE source for electricity to power satellites and payloads. Due to the challenge of climate heating on earth, it is well accepted that a transition from today´s energy supply by fossil fuel towards renewable energy resources is mandatory. It turns out that for this transition solar photovoltaic will be globally the major pillar to successfully fight climate change. Thus, photovoltaic technology R&D becomes even more important as in the past. The presentation will address the status and challenges for photovoltaic technologies applied on earth and in space.

Prof. Dr. Andreas W. Bett is director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany and operates the chair “Solar Energy Materials and Technologies” in the Faculty of Mathemat-ics and Physics, University of Freiburg. He received the Dipl. degree in physics and the state examination in physics and mathematics from the University of Freiburg, Germany in 1988 and 1989, respectively and the PhD degree in physics from the University of Konstanz, Germany in 1992. He joined the Fraun-hofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, ISE in 1987. In 1993 he became the head of the group “III-V – epitaxy and solar cells”. From 2007 until 2016 he was division director “Materials – Solar Cells and Tech-nology” and from 2009 until 2016 he was deputy director of the institute. In 2017 he was appointed di-rector of the institute.

The main areas of research of Prof. Dr. Andreas Bett include materials for photovoltaic cells, epitaxial growth of Si and III-V semiconductors, development of tandem solar cells and characterisation tech-niques for advanced solar cell devices. Furthermore, he develops concentrator module and systems and is involved in field testing.

For his scientific achievements he was honored with several prestigious prizes. He has organized sev-eral international conferences and served in many scientific committees. He was also co-founder of the company Concentrix Solar in 2006 and in 2015 of the company NexWafe.