Carmen Possnig

Carmen Possnig (born 1988) is an Austrian physician and reserve astronaut. After graduating from the Medical University of Graz in 2014, Possnig was a general practitioner resident in Vienna for a few years before working as a research medical doctor at Concordia Station in Antarctica for more than a year starting in 2017. Since 2020, she has been a doctoral student in space physiology at the University of Innsbruck. She was chosen as a reserve in the European Astronaut Corps in 2022.

Carmen Possnig
Born1988 (age 34–35)
Education
OccupationPhysician
Space career
ESA reserve astronaut
Selection2022 ESA Group

Early life and medical career

Possnig was born in Klagenfurt, Austria, in 1988. She completed her studies at the Medical University of Graz in 2014.[1][2] Her thesis, on the "Effects of Artificial Gravity Exposure on Orthostatic Tolerance Times in Men and Women", was written with the German Aerospace Center and supervised by professors Nandu Goswami and Helmut Hinghofer-Szalkay.[3][4] She was a resident physician at the Vienna Associated Hospitals from 2014 to 2017, during which she received a diploma and certification for general practice.[1][3]

Possnig spent 13 months in 2017 and 2018 as a research medical doctor at Concordia Station in Antarctica, where she led the medical rescue team, and conducted studies for the European Space Agency on how the human body adapts to extreme environment of the South Pole.[1][3][5] She wrote a book on her experience working in Antarctica, titled "Südlich vom Ende der Welt" ("South of the End of the World"), published by Ludwig Buchverlag in 2020.[1][5] She began a PhD at the University of Innsbruck focused on space physiology in 2020 and in 2022 became a research medical doctor at the Medes Institute for Space Medicine and Physiology in Toulouse, France.[3]

Astronaut career

The European Space Agency selected Possnig as a reserve astronaut for the 2022 selection of astronauts of the European Astronaut Corps.[6] There were more than 22,500 applicants to the new class of astronauts. If chosen to carry out a space mission, Possnig would become the first Austrian woman to fly in space.[1][2]

References
  1. "Österreicherin Carmen Possnig wird ESA-Reserveastronautin" [Austrian Carmen Possnig becomes ESA reserve astronaut]. Salzburger Nachrichten (in German). Austria Press Agency. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  2. "Medizinerin Carmen Possnig wird ESA-Reserveastronautin" [Physician Carmen Possnig becomes ESA reserve astronaut] (in German). Austria Press Agency. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  3. "Carmen Possnig". esa.int. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  4. Effects of Artificial Gravity Exposure on Orthostatic Tolerance Times in Men and Women (Thesis). Medical University of Graz. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  5. Traxler, Tanja (25 December 2020). "Wie eine österreichische Medizinerin ein Jahr am Südpol erlebte" [How an Austrian physician experienced a year at the South Pole]. Der Standard (in Austrian German). Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  6. "ESA presents new generation of astronauts". esa.int. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
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