The first Portuguese female astronaut is from Porto

Ana Pires, student at the Engineering School of the Porto Polytechnic Institute and researcher at INESC TEC is the first Portuguese woman to be granted the NASA's Astronaut-Scientist Diploma.

The Engineering and Electrotechnology Master student of ISEP- the Higher Institute of Engineering of Porto was among the 12 applications selected from submissions received from all around the world and of different areas. Ana Pires was screened in the context of the research project PoSSUM - Polar Suborbital on High Mesosphere, as stated by the "Mundo Português".

The Portuguese student was awarded the diploma after successfully completing the Certification Course that was held in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in Florida (USA).

The purpose of the course is to prepare candidates for a suborbital spaceflight as NASA Mission Specialist or Payload Specialist.

The duration of the course was one and a half month and included both a theoretical and a practical segment on aeronautical and air and space studies. The training also comprised the simulation of a mission, with a space suit, flying in acrobatic airplanes to adapt to the G Force and hyperbaric chamber sessions to observe hypoxia impact.

"This is the first step to continue a specialised training in the Space Industry. There are several trainings in the context of this programme [project PoSSUM] and I am very keen to continue working to pursue this dream", says Ana Pires, quoted by Porto Polytechnic Institute.