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Istituto Comprensivo Statale ''F. Berti'' di Bagnacavallo, Italy

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GROUP 21Școala Gimnazială ”Nicoale Titulescu” Cluj-Napoca, Romani

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GROUP 21Școala Gimnazială ”Nicoale Titulescu” Cluj-Napoca, Romani

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Hello!

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Scoala Gimnaziala Mihai Eminescu, Romania

3rd GRADE, Ant's class

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The first romanian astronaut in space, 1981 (Anca, Romania)

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An historical meeting with Dumitru Prunariu (2013)

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An historical meeting with Dumitru Prunariu (2013)

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Dumitru Prunariu, the first romanian astronaut who flew in space, meeting my former students in the centre of our little town (Anca, Romania)

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Pedro Duque

Personal data

Pedro Duque was born on 14 March 1963 in Madrid, Spain. He is married and has three children. Pedro enjoys diving, swimming and cycling.

Education

Pedro graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid in 1986.

Organisations

Spanish Academy of Engineering.

Special Honours

Order of Friendship awarded by Russian President Boris Yeltsin March 1995

Great Cross of Aeronautical Merit awarded by the King of Spain in February 1999

Principe de Asturias prize for International Cooperation shared with three other astronauts

Experience

Pedro joined the Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo in 1986 and worked at ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, to support the Precise Orbit Determination Group. Until 1992, he worked on developing models for orbit determination and algorithms, and implementing orbit computation software. Pedro was also part of the Flight Control Team for ESA's ERS-1 satellite and Eureca, the European Retrievable Carrier.

In May 1992 Pedro was selected to join ESA's Astronaut Corps based at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. He completed the Introductory and Basic Training Programmes at EAC and a four-week training programme at the Russian Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia.

In August 1993, Pedro returned to Star City to train for the ESA-Russian EuroMir-94 mission. During that mission, which took place from 3 October to 4 November 1994, Pedro was the prime Crew Interface Coordinator in the Russian Mission Control Centre in Moscow. He served as coordinator between the astronauts on Mir and the European scientists.

In May 1995, NASA selected Pedro as an Alternate Payload Specialist for the STS-78 Space Shuttle Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission that flew in June 1996. During the 17-day mission, Pedro was one of the two Crew Interface Coordinators, communicating with researchers on Earth and the astronauts on Space Shuttle Columbia about the experiments. ESA flew five major facilities on the mission and was responsible for more than half of the experiments performed.

In August 1996, Pedro entered the Mission Specialist Class at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA. This training led to his certification as Mission Specialist in April 1998, qualifying him for assignments on the Space Shuttle.

In 1999, Pedro was assigned to ESA's technical heart, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, supporting the Module Projects Division in what was then the Directorate of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity.

Pedro worked on Europe's Columbus laboratory and the Cupola module on the International Space Station as crew support until 2002 and returned to this task several months after his second flight. Pedro reviewed their design from the point of view of operations and maintenance, evaluated ergonomics and evaluated displays and procedures as well as participating in safety reviews.

In April 2001 Pedro was assigned to the first International Space Station advanced training class to 2003, when he qualified for one of the first European long-term missions to the Space Station.

Pedro was seconded by ESA as Director of Operations of the Spanish User Support and operations Centre in Madrid, which is managed by the Instituto da Riva and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. He managed the implementation and first operations of the Centre until 2006.

In October 2006, Pedro took special leave from ESA to head an Earth observation project. He led Deimos Imaging S.L. (DMI) until 2011, first as Managing Director and then as Executive President. DMI is a private company that runs a commercial Earth observation system with its own satellite and ground stations.

In October 2011 Pedro returned to ESA after his special leave as member of ESA's Astronaut Corps to head the Flight Operations Office. This Office, located at the Columbus Control Centre near Munich, Germany, supervises the work of the flight controllers and supports personnel that perform ground operations of the European module on the International Space Station and its utilisation programme.

Spaceflight experience

Pedro flew as Mission Specialist on the Space Shuttle Discovery for STS-95 mission from 29 October to 7 November 1998. The nine-day mission was dedicated to research in weightlessness and the study of the Sun. Pedro was responsible for the five ESA scientific facilities and for the computer system on the Space Shuttle.

From 18 to 28 October 2003, Pedro flew the 10-day Cervantes mission on the International Space Station. He was Flight Engineer on the Soyuz-TMA as part of Expedition 8 and landed back on Earth as part of Expedition 7. Pedro ran an extensive experiment programme in life and physical sciences, Earth observation, education and technology, including experiments in the Microgravity Science Glovebox, a research facility developed in Europe.

Current assignment

Early in 2015 Pedro returned to astronaut duties and to full flight status, and among the astronauts he is responsible for the control and review of future ESA projects.

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Pedro Duque Personal data Pedro Duque was born on 14 March 1963 in Madrid, Spain. He is married and has three children. Pedro enjoys diving, swimming and cycling. Education Pedro graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid in 1986.

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Primary Students 2nd Primary C Huertas Mayores - Tudela, Spain

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Primary Students 2nd Primary B Huertas Mayores - Tudela, Spain

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Primary Students 2nd Primary A Huertas Mayores - Tudela, Spain

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Primary 4B students from Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer School - Barcelona, Spain

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Halil Kayıkçı- Turkey
It is announced that Halil Kayıkçı will travel to space with 23 astronauts next year.

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Michael Lopez-Alegria
He was born in Spain.

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Greek origin Fyodor Nikolayevich Yurchikhin is a Russian cosmonaut of Greek descent, engineer and RSC Energia test-pilot who has flown on five spaceflights.

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Pedro Duque is 54 y.o. today.

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Pedro Duque .
Madrid, March 14th, 1963.

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Fyodor (Thodoros) Yurchikhin
http://globalgreekworld.blogspot.gr/2009/07/global-greeks-in-space-greek-russian.html

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Year 4A students from Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer School in Barcelona.

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Ahmetli Yahsi Bey Primary School Şile, Istanbul/TURKEY

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Liceul Teoretic ,,Lucian Blaga"- Cluj-Napoca, Romania

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Huertas Mayores, Tudela, Spain (1st C)

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Huertas Mayores, Tudela, Spain (1st B)

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Huertas Mayores, Tudela, Spain (1st A)

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Primary School of Agia Paraskevi, Lesvos island, Greece

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PEDRO DUQUE

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Pedro Duque

Personal data

Pedro Duque was born on 14 March 1963 in Madrid, Spain. He is married and has three children. Pedro enjoys diving, swimming and cycling.

Education

Pedro graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid in 1986.

Organisations

Spanish Academy of Engineering.

Special Honours

Order of Friendship awarded by Russian President Boris Yeltsin March 1995

Great Cross of Aeronautical Merit awarded by the King of Spain in February 1999

Principe de Asturias prize for International Cooperation shared with three other astronauts

Experience

Pedro joined the Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo in 1986 and worked at ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, to support the Precise Orbit Determination Group. Until 1992, he worked on developing models for orbit determination and algorithms, and implementing orbit computation software. Pedro was also part of the Flight Control Team for ESA's ERS-1 satellite and Eureca, the European Retrievable Carrier.

In May 1992 Pedro was selected to join ESA's Astronaut Corps based at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. He completed the Introductory and Basic Training Programmes at EAC and a four-week training programme at the Russian Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia.

In August 1993, Pedro returned to Star City to train for the ESA-Russian EuroMir-94 mission. During that mission, which took place from 3 October to 4 November 1994, Pedro was the prime Crew Interface Coordinator in the Russian Mission Control Centre in Moscow. He served as coordinator between the astronauts on Mir and the European scientists.

In May 1995, NASA selected Pedro as an Alternate Payload Specialist for the STS-78 Space Shuttle Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission that flew in June 1996. During the 17-day mission, Pedro was one of the two Crew Interface Coordinators, communicating with researchers on Earth and the astronauts on Space Shuttle Columbia about the experiments. ESA flew five major facilities on the mission and was responsible for more than half of the experiments performed.

In August 1996, Pedro entered the Mission Specialist Class at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA. This training led to his certification as Mission Specialist in April 1998, qualifying him for assignments on the Space Shuttle.

In 1999, Pedro was assigned to ESA's technical heart, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, supporting the Module Projects Division in what was then the Directorate of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity.

Pedro worked on Europe's Columbus laboratory and the Cupola module on the International Space Station as crew support until 2002 and returned to this task several months after his second flight. Pedro reviewed their design from the point of view of operations and maintenance, evaluated ergonomics and evaluated displays and procedures as well as participating in safety reviews.

In April 2001 Pedro was assigned to the first International Space Station advanced training class to 2003, when he qualified for one of the first European long-term missions to the Space Station.

Pedro was seconded by ESA as Director of Operations of the Spanish User Support and operations Centre in Madrid, which is managed by the Instituto da Riva and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. He managed the implementation and first operations of the Centre until 2006.

In October 2006, Pedro took special leave from ESA to head an Earth observation project. He led Deimos Imaging S.L. (DMI) until 2011, first as Managing Director and then as Executive President. DMI is a private company that runs a commercial Earth observation system with its own satellite and ground stations.

In October 2011 Pedro returned to ESA after his special leave as member of ESA's Astronaut Corps to head the Flight Operations Office. This Office, located at the Columbus Control Centre near Munich, Germany, supervises the work of the flight controllers and supports personnel that perform ground operations of the European module on the International Space Station and its utilisation programme.

Spaceflight experience

Pedro flew as Mission Specialist on the Space Shuttle Discovery for STS-95 mission from 29 October to 7 November 1998. The nine-day mission was dedicated to research in weightlessness and the study of the Sun. Pedro was responsible for the five ESA scientific facilities and for the computer system on the Space Shuttle.

From 18 to 28 October 2003, Pedro flew the 10-day Cervantes mission on the International Space Station. He was Flight Engineer on the Soyuz-TMA as part of Expedition 8 and landed back on Earth as part of Expedition 7. Pedro ran an extensive experiment programme in life and physical sciences, Earth observation, education and technology, including experiments in the Microgravity Science Glovebox, a research facility developed in Europe.

Current assignment

Early in 2015 Pedro returned to astronaut duties and to full flight status, and among the astronauts he is responsible for the control and review of future ESA projects.

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Pedro Duque Personal data Pedro Duque was born on 14 March 1963 in Madrid, Spain. He is married and has three children. Pedro enjoys diving, swimming and cycling. Education Pedro graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid in 1986.

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Primary School of Volos-Greece, 3rd Grade

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Georgi Ivanov- The first bulgarian in space.On 1 March 1978, he was elected as a cosmonaut in the second group of the Intercosmos program . On April 10, 1979, at 20 hours and 34 minutes of Moscow time, spacecraft Soyuz-33 was launched in orbit around the Earth,

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Pedro Duque

Personal data

Pedro Duque was born on 14 March 1963 in Madrid, Spain. He is married and has three children. Pedro enjoys diving, swimming and cycling.

Education

Pedro graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid in 1986.

Organisations

Spanish Academy of Engineering.

Special Honours

Order of Friendship awarded by Russian President Boris Yeltsin March 1995

Great Cross of Aeronautical Merit awarded by the King of Spain in February 1999

Principe de Asturias prize for International Cooperation shared with three other astronauts

Experience

Pedro joined the Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo in 1986 and worked at ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, to support the Precise Orbit Determination Group. Until 1992, he worked on developing models for orbit determination and algorithms, and implementing orbit computation software. Pedro was also part of the Flight Control Team for ESA's ERS-1 satellite and Eureca, the European Retrievable Carrier.

In May 1992 Pedro was selected to join ESA's Astronaut Corps based at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. He completed the Introductory and Basic Training Programmes at EAC and a four-week training programme at the Russian Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia.

In August 1993, Pedro returned to Star City to train for the ESA-Russian EuroMir-94 mission. During that mission, which took place from 3 October to 4 November 1994, Pedro was the prime Crew Interface Coordinator in the Russian Mission Control Centre in Moscow. He served as coordinator between the astronauts on Mir and the European scientists.

In May 1995, NASA selected Pedro as an Alternate Payload Specialist for the STS-78 Space Shuttle Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission that flew in June 1996. During the 17-day mission, Pedro was one of the two Crew Interface Coordinators, communicating with researchers on Earth and the astronauts on Space Shuttle Columbia about the experiments. ESA flew five major facilities on the mission and was responsible for more than half of the experiments performed.

In August 1996, Pedro entered the Mission Specialist Class at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA. This training led to his certification as Mission Specialist in April 1998, qualifying him for assignments on the Space Shuttle.

In 1999, Pedro was assigned to ESA's technical heart, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, supporting the Module Projects Division in what was then the Directorate of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity.

Pedro worked on Europe's Columbus laboratory and the Cupola module on the International Space Station as crew support until 2002 and returned to this task several months after his second flight. Pedro reviewed their design from the point of view of operations and maintenance, evaluated ergonomics and evaluated displays and procedures as well as participating in safety reviews.

In April 2001 Pedro was assigned to the first International Space Station advanced training class to 2003, when he qualified for one of the first European long-term missions to the Space Station.

Pedro was seconded by ESA as Director of Operations of the Spanish User Support and operations Centre in Madrid, which is managed by the Instituto da Riva and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. He managed the implementation and first operations of the Centre until 2006.

In October 2006, Pedro took special leave from ESA to head an Earth observation project. He led Deimos Imaging S.L. (DMI) until 2011, first as Managing Director and then as Executive President. DMI is a private company that runs a commercial Earth observation system with its own satellite and ground stations.

In October 2011 Pedro returned to ESA after his special leave as member of ESA's Astronaut Corps to head the Flight Operations Office. This Office, located at the Columbus Control Centre near Munich, Germany, supervises the work of the flight controllers and supports personnel that perform ground operations of the European module on the International Space Station and its utilisation programme.

Spaceflight experience

Pedro flew as Mission Specialist on the Space Shuttle Discovery for STS-95 mission from 29 October to 7 November 1998. The nine-day mission was dedicated to research in weightlessness and the study of the Sun. Pedro was responsible for the five ESA scientific facilities and for the computer system on the Space Shuttle.

From 18 to 28 October 2003, Pedro flew the 10-day Cervantes mission on the International Space Station. He was Flight Engineer on the Soyuz-TMA as part of Expedition 8 and landed back on Earth as part of Expedition 7. Pedro ran an extensive experiment programme in life and physical sciences, Earth observation, education and technology, including experiments in the Microgravity Science Glovebox, a research facility developed in Europe.

Current assignment

Early in 2015 Pedro returned to astronaut duties and to full flight status, and among the astronauts he is responsible for the control and review of future ESA projects.

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Pedro Duque Personal data Pedro Duque was born on 14 March 1963 in Madrid, Spain. He is married and has three children. Pedro enjoys diving, swimming and cycling. Education Pedro graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid in 1986.

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Pedro Duque

Personal data

Pedro Duque was born on 14 March 1963 in Madrid, Spain. He is married and has three children. Pedro enjoys diving, swimming and cycling.

Education

Pedro graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid in 1986.

Organisations

Spanish Academy of Engineering.

Special Honours

Order of Friendship awarded by Russian President Boris Yeltsin March 1995

Great Cross of Aeronautical Merit awarded by the King of Spain in February 1999

Principe de Asturias prize for International Cooperation shared with three other astronauts

Experience

Pedro joined the Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo in 1986 and worked at ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, to support the Precise Orbit Determination Group. Until 1992, he worked on developing models for orbit determination and algorithms, and implementing orbit computation software. Pedro was also part of the Flight Control Team for ESA's ERS-1 satellite and Eureca, the European Retrievable Carrier.

In May 1992 Pedro was selected to join ESA's Astronaut Corps based at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. He completed the Introductory and Basic Training Programmes at EAC and a four-week training programme at the Russian Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia.

In August 1993, Pedro returned to Star City to train for the ESA-Russian EuroMir-94 mission. During that mission, which took place from 3 October to 4 November 1994, Pedro was the prime Crew Interface Coordinator in the Russian Mission Control Centre in Moscow. He served as coordinator between the astronauts on Mir and the European scientists.

In May 1995, NASA selected Pedro as an Alternate Payload Specialist for the STS-78 Space Shuttle Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission that flew in June 1996. During the 17-day mission, Pedro was one of the two Crew Interface Coordinators, communicating with researchers on Earth and the astronauts on Space Shuttle Columbia about the experiments. ESA flew five major facilities on the mission and was responsible for more than half of the experiments performed.

In August 1996, Pedro entered the Mission Specialist Class at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA. This training led to his certification as Mission Specialist in April 1998, qualifying him for assignments on the Space Shuttle.

In 1999, Pedro was assigned to ESA's technical heart, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, supporting the Module Projects Division in what was then the Directorate of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity.

Pedro worked on Europe's Columbus laboratory and the Cupola module on the International Space Station as crew support until 2002 and returned to this task several months after his second flight. Pedro reviewed their design from the point of view of operations and maintenance, evaluated ergonomics and evaluated displays and procedures as well as participating in safety reviews.

In April 2001 Pedro was assigned to the first International Space Station advanced training class to 2003, when he qualified for one of the first European long-term missions to the Space Station.

Pedro was seconded by ESA as Director of Operations of the Spanish User Support and operations Centre in Madrid, which is managed by the Instituto da Riva and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. He managed the implementation and first operations of the Centre until 2006.

In October 2006, Pedro took special leave from ESA to head an Earth observation project. He led Deimos Imaging S.L. (DMI) until 2011, first as Managing Director and then as Executive President. DMI is a private company that runs a commercial Earth observation system with its own satellite and ground stations.

In October 2011 Pedro returned to ESA after his special leave as member of ESA's Astronaut Corps to head the Flight Operations Office. This Office, located at the Columbus Control Centre near Munich, Germany, supervises the work of the flight controllers and supports personnel that perform ground operations of the European module on the International Space Station and its utilisation programme.

Spaceflight experience

Pedro flew as Mission Specialist on the Space Shuttle Discovery for STS-95 mission from 29 October to 7 November 1998. The nine-day mission was dedicated to research in weightlessness and the study of the Sun. Pedro was responsible for the five ESA scientific facilities and for the computer system on the Space Shuttle.

From 18 to 28 October 2003, Pedro flew the 10-day Cervantes mission on the International Space Station. He was Flight Engineer on the Soyuz-TMA as part of Expedition 8 and landed back on Earth as part of Expedition 7. Pedro ran an extensive experiment programme in life and physical sciences, Earth observation, education and technology, including experiments in the Microgravity Science Glovebox, a research facility developed in Europe.

Current assignment

Early in 2015 Pedro returned to astronaut duties and to full flight status, and among the astronauts he is responsible for the control and review of future ESA projects.

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Pedro Duque Personal data Pedro Duque was born on 14 March 1963 in Madrid, Spain. He is married and has three children. Pedro enjoys diving, swimming and cycling. Education Pedro graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid in 1986.

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Mirosław Hermaszewski - the first Polish man in space (1978)

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Кindergarten "Nikola Vapcarov" Assenovgrad,Bulgaria

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Huertas Mayores School - SPAIN (5th grade Primary)

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Huertas Mayores School - SPAIN (5th grade Primary)

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Huertas Mayores School - SPAIN (5th grade Primary)

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Primary School in Kamień - POLAND

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PEDRO DUQUE

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Pedro Duque

Personal data

Pedro Duque was born on 14 March 1963 in Madrid, Spain. He is married and has three children. Pedro enjoys diving, swimming and cycling.

Education

Pedro graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid in 1986.

Organisations

Spanish Academy of Engineering.

Special Honours

Order of Friendship awarded by Russian President Boris Yeltsin March 1995

Great Cross of Aeronautical Merit awarded by the King of Spain in February 1999

Principe de Asturias prize for International Cooperation shared with three other astronauts

Experience

Pedro joined the Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo in 1986 and worked at ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, to support the Precise Orbit Determination Group. Until 1992, he worked on developing models for orbit determination and algorithms, and implementing orbit computation software. Pedro was also part of the Flight Control Team for ESA's ERS-1 satellite and Eureca, the European Retrievable Carrier.

In May 1992 Pedro was selected to join ESA's Astronaut Corps based at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. He completed the Introductory and Basic Training Programmes at EAC and a four-week training programme at the Russian Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia.

In August 1993, Pedro returned to Star City to train for the ESA-Russian EuroMir-94 mission. During that mission, which took place from 3 October to 4 November 1994, Pedro was the prime Crew Interface Coordinator in the Russian Mission Control Centre in Moscow. He served as coordinator between the astronauts on Mir and the European scientists.

In May 1995, NASA selected Pedro as an Alternate Payload Specialist for the STS-78 Space Shuttle Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission that flew in June 1996. During the 17-day mission, Pedro was one of the two Crew Interface Coordinators, communicating with researchers on Earth and the astronauts on Space Shuttle Columbia about the experiments. ESA flew five major facilities on the mission and was responsible for more than half of the experiments performed.

In August 1996, Pedro entered the Mission Specialist Class at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA. This training led to his certification as Mission Specialist in April 1998, qualifying him for assignments on the Space Shuttle.

In 1999, Pedro was assigned to ESA's technical heart, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, supporting the Module Projects Division in what was then the Directorate of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity.

Pedro worked on Europe's Columbus laboratory and the Cupola module on the International Space Station as crew support until 2002 and returned to this task several months after his second flight. Pedro reviewed their design from the point of view of operations and maintenance, evaluated ergonomics and evaluated displays and procedures as well as participating in safety reviews.

In April 2001 Pedro was assigned to the first International Space Station advanced training class to 2003, when he qualified for one of the first European long-term missions to the Space Station.

Pedro was seconded by ESA as Director of Operations of the Spanish User Support and operations Centre in Madrid, which is managed by the Instituto da Riva and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. He managed the implementation and first operations of the Centre until 2006.

In October 2006, Pedro took special leave from ESA to head an Earth observation project. He led Deimos Imaging S.L. (DMI) until 2011, first as Managing Director and then as Executive President. DMI is a private company that runs a commercial Earth observation system with its own satellite and ground stations.

In October 2011 Pedro returned to ESA after his special leave as member of ESA's Astronaut Corps to head the Flight Operations Office. This Office, located at the Columbus Control Centre near Munich, Germany, supervises the work of the flight controllers and supports personnel that perform ground operations of the European module on the International Space Station and its utilisation programme.

Spaceflight experience

Pedro flew as Mission Specialist on the Space Shuttle Discovery for STS-95 mission from 29 October to 7 November 1998. The nine-day mission was dedicated to research in weightlessness and the study of the Sun. Pedro was responsible for the five ESA scientific facilities and for the computer system on the Space Shuttle.

From 18 to 28 October 2003, Pedro flew the 10-day Cervantes mission on the International Space Station. He was Flight Engineer on the Soyuz-TMA as part of Expedition 8 and landed back on Earth as part of Expedition 7. Pedro ran an extensive experiment programme in life and physical sciences, Earth observation, education and technology, including experiments in the Microgravity Science Glovebox, a research facility developed in Europe.

Current assignment

Early in 2015 Pedro returned to astronaut duties and to full flight status, and among the astronauts he is responsible for the control and review of future ESA projects.

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Pedro Duque Personal data Pedro Duque was born on 14 March 1963 in Madrid, Spain. He is married and has three children. Pedro enjoys diving, swimming and cycling. Education Pedro graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid in 1986.

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Huertas Mayores School - SPAIN (5 years old - kindergarten)

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1) Even though Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, its surface can still be extremely cold. The temperature during the day can reach 840 degrees Fahrenheit (450 degrees Celsius), but at night, temperatures can get as low as minus 275 F (minus 170 C).
2) Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system. The diminutive planet is about 3,030 miles (4,876 kilometers) in diameter
3) Scientists think that a huge asteroid slammed into Mercury about 4 billion years ago, creating a giant crater about 960 miles (1,545 km) across
4) NASA's MESSENGER probe (short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging mission), which has been orbiting Mercury since 2011, has beamed back some amazing images of the closest planet to the sun. Scientists have used those images to create the first-ever complete map of Mercury's surface.

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DUMITRU PRUNARIU
in 1981, after completing the Soyuz 40 mission, Prunariu received the awards of Hero of Romania and Hero of the Soviet Union.

In 1982 Prunariu was awarded the Yuri Gagarin medal of the International Astronautic Federation.