Pedro Duque

Pedro Duque is a Spanish astronaut and aeronautics engineer who serves as Minister of Science of the Government of Spain. 

 After graduating with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronáuticos at the Universidad Politécnica in Madrid in 1986, Pedro worked for the company GMV as well as the European Space Agency (ESA). While at the ESA, he worked on developing models for orbit determination and algorithms, and implementing orbit computation software before he was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1992. Pedro underwent training in Russia and the United States before doing his first spaceflight as a mission specialist aboard space shuttle mission STS-95. In 2003, Pedro visited the International Space Station.

 That same year, he began working at UPM School of Aeronautical Engineers as head of operations of the Spanish USOC. In 2006 he was named managing director of the private company Deimos Imaging who put the first Spanish earth observation satellite in orbit in 2009. 

 In 2011, Pedro returned to the ESA as an astronaut until eventually assuming responsibility of review of future ESA manned flights within the ESA’s astronaut corps. He was named to his current role of Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in 2018. 

Watch Pedro’s videos:
El astronauta español de la ESA Pedro Duque habla del Día de Asteroide
Protecting Earth from Asteroids Panel Discussion