Crew 147
ROMAIN CHARLES, COMMANDERRomain Charles is a French mechanical engineer with experience both in the automotive and space fields. After working for six years as a quality engineer in the automotive industry, he was selected by the European Space Agency to become the Flight Engineer of the Mars 500 crew. This mission of 520 days simulated a journey to Mars between the 3rd of June 2010 and the 4th of November 2011. The successful mission allowed him follow his passion and to continue working in the space sector.He attended the ISU Space Studies Program in 2012 at the Florida Institute of Technology & Kennedy Space Center and then he took the position of crew support engineer at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne, Germany. Romain is also finishing the Eurocom training to enter the Columbus Flight Control Team and support the ISS operations with the European module.
RENEE GARIFI, XOThis season, Renee Garifi serves as the Team ISU Executive Officer and briefly commanded the mission for three days until Romain Charles safely arrived from Europe. Renee is currently contracted as a payload analyst for space station research. She holds a Master of Science degree in Space Studies with Human Space Flight from the ISU and is currently pursuing a second graduate degree in Space Systems Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology, where she also completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Astrobiology. Her previous research topics include the astronomical investigation of exoplanet transit candidates from KELT, extremophilic microbial stress adaptation responses to spaceflight, microbial adaptation to lunar soil simulant and biophysical research on the colloidal amyloid protein fiber formation theory of neurodegenerative diseases. Renee will collaborate with Scott MacPhee, Crew Astronomer, to collect photometric data on large transiting Jovian exoplanets using the Musk Observatory.
WISSAM RAMMO, HEALTH & SAFETY OFFICERWissam Rammo attended the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena, and the University of Leipzig, both in Germany where he earned his Master in physics. In 2008, he studied at the University of Toulouse, France as part of an exchange program. In 2010, he has moved to France in order to attend the International Space University (ISU), obtaining an MSc in Space engineering.As Wissam is passionate about coming up with sustainable solutions, climate change protection and sustainability, he was fortunate enough to be part of the 2013 International Antarctic Expedition, serving as the young professional ambassador to enhance his capabilities in leadership and sustainability. He has worked for the Astrophysics Institute Jena (research topic was about the formation of massive stars and their outflows and jets), the German Space Agency (developing the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) scientific instrument for the robotic lander mission to Mars called InSight). Now he works as an application engineer on calibration the world's first 9-speed transmission in ZF Friedrichshafen AG. Furthermore, he works as volunteer as one of the sub-project coordinators for CONSTELLATION (a platform for all kinds of aerospace related simulations), and he is a member of the Space Generation Advisory Council and the Antarctic Youth Ambassador Program 2041.
DANIELLE DELATTE, CREW SCIENTISTDanielle DeLatte is an aerospace engineer in Washington DC with passions for human-robot interaction and outreach. She has a S.B. Aerospace Engineering with Information Technology from MIT and a Master of Science in Space Studies with Human Space Flight at the International Space University. (She appears to be on a quest for long degree names.) While at ISU, she completed an internship at Tohoku University's Space Robotics Laboratory in Sendai, Japan and worked on development projects for the ISU rover, a sister rover to one at the Mars Desert Research Station.Favorite past projects include the Leveraged Freedom Chair (an all-terrain wheelchair) and the Hakuto team's rover for the Google Lunar X-Prize. She is excited to be continuing user interface research at MDRS as the Crew Scientist. In her down time, she enjoys rock climbing and singing.
ANDREW HENRY - CREW JOURNALISTAndrew works as a systems designer at CGI Space and Defense in the United Kingdom where he designs software for satellite navigation and Earth observation systems. Andrew has a Master of Space Studies (Human Spaceflight strand) from the International Space University and a Bachelor of Software Engineering from the University of Newcastle in Australia.Andrew has an interest in human space exploration and robotics. As a Masters topic, Andrew researched robotics for thehuman exploration of Mars and interned at NASA Ames Research Center where he contributed to research into telerobotics for future human space missions. Andrew is a writer for Space Safety Magazine and founding member of the ISS For the Nobel Peace Prize initiative, which has successfully secured nominations for the International Space Station in the 2014 Peace Prize. At MDRS, Andrew will focus on research aimed at supporting human space exploration through technology, in particular human computer and human robotic interactions.
REBECA RODRIGUEZ, CREW ENGINEERRebeca Rodriguez is an aerospace engineer and entrepreneur motivated to share her passion for space exploration with students and encouraging them to pursue careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. She is the founder of Xplore BoX, a monthly subscription service bringing STEM projects to kids.As a space systems mechanical engineer at Hamilton Sundstrand, her responsibilities included conducting tests to evaluate spacecraft hardware performance and resolving anomalies found during the integration and testing processes. She enjoyed the hands-on nature of her work and interacting with various groups of engineers on a daily basis. Prior to joining Hamilton Sundstrand she worked at Aerovation, Inc., creating models and producing drawings for the modification of aircraft. She earned a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering and a minor in Japanese from the University of Arizona and a master's in space management from the International Space University. As an undergraduate, Rodriguez was a NASA Space Grant intern in the development of a high altitude balloon payload. As a master student, Rodriguez was involved in a Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) parabolic flight campaign in which she was an experimental subject and the developer of the technical documentation. Research interests include high altitude weather balloons for aerial photography and environmental data collection, habitat design, and developing education and outreach experiments for kids.
SCOTT MACPHEE, CREW ASTRONOMERScott MacPhee originates from Halifax Nova Scotia Canada. He has a BSc. in Physics and diploma of Engineering (concurrent degrees) from Dalhousie University. He obtained his MSc. In Space Studies from ISU in 2008, after interning at Ames research Center in Mountain View California. In 2009 he stayed on as research intern at USRA-SOFIA, performing exoplanet transit observations using a computer controlled telescope. This research specifically focused on the detectability of planets orbiting low mass red (M-type) stars. Since this time he has stepped away from research and pursued his other passion: music. While pursuing a group music project at home, he has had the opportunity to work as part of ISU's Summer Session Program 2012 (SSP12) in Melbourne Florida, and ISU's SSP13 in Strasbourg, France. In Florida he served as Teaching Associate in Space Applications, and in Strasbourg he mentored a Team of 30 students focused on improving sustainability in Kenya.He remains passionate about Astronomy, specifically exoplanets, but has most recently been learning CAD design as he believes 3D printing will have profound implications for manufacturing both on the ground and in space.