Celia Avila Rauch | Adriano V. Autino | Werner Grandl | Marie-Luise Heuser | Bernard Foing | Jerry Stone

Celia Avila-Rauch

Psychotherapist-Coach-Supervisor, Aviation and Space Psychologist

Trained at University of Girona (UdG), Master’s in Clinical Psychology Autonomous University Barcelona (UAB), active cognitive behavioural psychotherapist. Master’s Degree in Behavioural Medicine (UAB); Research Proficiency in Psychiatry and Medical Psychology (UAB) Barcelona Spain. European Certificate of Psychotherapy (EUROPSY), World Certificate of Psychotherapy (WCP). Coach certificate (CIP). Certificate as Supervisor of medical psychotherapists and psychologists with a cognitive behavioural orientation by the official Bavarian school of psychotherapy in Munich, Germany. Specialised in emotional intelligence skills by the EISkills Group of Yale University, MSCEIT ™ Mayer-Salovey Caruso Certificate in Emotional Intelligence. Lecturer at the International University IU in Psychology in Munich. Certified as Aviation Psychologist by the Psychology Chamber of Eastern Andalusia. Actively working with the GT of Madrid and Barcelona Chamber of Psychologists in Aviation Psychology. Aerospace psychologist, at Space Psychology department coordinator Lunex – EuroMoonMars in the Netherlands. Trainer of Alba Emoting™ and Breath Xpress techniques. Researcher at the University of Cadiz in the Department of Neuropsychology – Human Factors – Neurotechlab. Lecturer at the Psychology Chamber of Madrid in Aviation Psychology.

Since 2020, she has been researching psychological and interpersonal issues affecting people working in space simulation missions. Her book includes the dark and light sides of leadership and collaboration at the book with Jara Pascual, chapter 4 of the book Innovation and cooperation in the digital era, “The secrets of collaboration – using emotional intelligence for innovation and collaboration.” and several professional publications in clinical psychology and space psychology. For a month, she participated in an analog space simulation mission at HI-SEAS Hawaii as a pilot project for space psychology, which is an ongoing project. Her thirty years of experience and professional work in clinical psychology, psychotherapy and coaching with a cognitive-emotional approach and personality development in three different countries have shown her how important our emotions, actions and behaviours are for our existence.

Member of EAAP (European Association of Aviation Psychology), Member of SEPAC (asociación Española Psicología Aeroespacial y Aeronáutica Civil) and Member of the SRI (Space Renaissance International), CESO (Cyprus space Exploration Organisation).

Psychological Support for the Mental Health and Performance of Astronauts During Missions

Space psychology is a specialized field that examines space travel and exploration’s psychological, behavioral, and human performance aspects. Space psychology should reduce the mental workload of teams working in extreme environments, they must share values and visions toward a common goal. It focuses on understanding how individuals and teams cope with the unique stressors, challenges, and confined environments associated with space missions. High-performance teams requires highly effective communication, collaboration, decision-making, and problem-solving. In addition, we are talking about human factors and ergonomics application ensure good habitability. High-performance teams require high interaction with engineering, science, technology, psychology, and ergonomics, with excessive physical and psychological changes due to their conditions, altitude, pressures, workload, and atmosphere (Kanas et al., 2010). These adverse influences impact the performance of mission teams. In addition, space psychology must advise on how to cope with the biopsychosocial challenges of being in a gravity-free environment, with isolation, lack of privacy, altered light and dark cycles, altered sleep rhythms, fatigue, monotony, constant noise, stress, and how to deal with thoughts, beliefs and emotional regulation, and resilience. Therefore, group cohesion and the ability to work autonomously and disciplined, with good digitization skills and excellent emergency response skills, will be relevant. We are conducting several experiments on different space analog astronaut missions. Our Neuroteklab© team is working on the Human Factors, Cognitive and Emotional process and personalities of the  Members of this Space Analog Habitat. Our training focuses on the individual skills of the crew members, how they can regulate their emotions, how to be aware of personal values, and how to deal with the cohesion of the crew members, and how to know their strengths. However, certain personality traits are desirable for an astronaut, as they can help ensure space missions’ safety, well-being, and success. Personality comprises the organization of motivations, attitudes, beliefs, and ways of perceiving and acting.

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Adriano V. Autino

Space Renaissance International, CEO, Co-Founder and Former President

Born in Moncrivello (VC, Italia), Adriano is co-founder and former President of the Space Renaissance Initiative, from 2010 Space Renaissance International (SRI), an inter-cultural non-profit association, whose mission is the opening of the space frontier: low-cost access to space, space tourism, industrialization of the geo-lunar space, use of near-Earth asteroids, and the full development of space economy. Adriano graduated in Industrial Electronics, acting since 1971 as a software and system engineer, then project manager and entrepreneur in the field of real-time automation systems. His insatiable curiosity and the desire to engage in frontier fields have led him to work in the aerospace environment and to devise and develop an integrated software system, supporting the systems engineering and the project lifecycle management processes. Adriano authored and co-authored several books, papers, and articles on the theme of civilization expansion into outer space. Some of his lectures cover Space Philosophy and the New Space Economy.

Global development’s sustainability, by civilian space development, the Space 18th SDG.

During the last 20 years, it became more and more evident that a civilization of 8 billion citizens cannot continue its development on one planet. That would not be sustainable. Environmentalists have coined the slogan “We don’t have a Planet B”. According to their limited non-humanist philosophy, they mean that we cannot have it, or even that we should not have it. Opposite, space humanists believe that we shall work to get one or more planets B, or to build big infrastructures in space, using asteroid raw materials. A very different concept of sustainability, indeed. The technology of reusable rockets, initiated in 2015, provides a key asset, to make human space flight and space settlement feasible and sustainable, promising to achieve soon the use of non-terrestrial resources for industrial and cultural development, outside of our mother planet. Such great epochal opportunity shall be sized quickly: our launch window could close sooner than expected, under the strikes of the global multi-crises gripping our world. The recent escalation of what has been called “a world war in pieces” may precipitate our civilization into a non-reversible implosion. Humanity needs to take some meaningful steps on the road of civilian space development before 2030: that would be a clear sign of crisis reversal and will ignite the spark of hope in the young generations, showing that there is a big project, for which it is worth to engage, study and work for. This lecture provides a synthesis scenario of some urgent developments to be undertaken, higher priorities to be assigned to some scientific research strains, and some industrial initiatives; a survey of the new space vs. traditional aerospace, and the opportunities now waiting for young scientists and entrepreneurs, both in space and on Earth. Finally, we will talk about how to engage the United Nations to recognize and support space development as the real and main factor of sustainability: the proposal of a Space 18 th SDG, to be added to the U.N. 2030 Agenda. Such an initiative was presented in 2023, both in a public workshop at U.N. Plaza in New York City, and at the COPUOS 66 th session in Vienna.

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Werner Grandl

Consulting Engineer,
Space Renaissance International, Board of Directors

Grandl was born on March 31, 1957, in Vienna, and later pursued a degree in architecture from the Technical University of Vienna, graduating in 1984. Following completion of his academic journey, he took on military service in the Austrian Air Force in 1985. Subsequently, from 1986 to 1993, he gained practical experience working in various engineering offices. In 1994, Werner Grandl transitioned into the role of a freelancing architect and consulting engineer, a path he has successfully navigated ever since. However, his professional journey is marked by more than just architectural pursuits. Since 1987, Grandl has been deeply engrossed in studies revolving around space stations, space colonies, and the utilization of asteroid resources. A notable contributor to the field of space exploration, Grandl’s impact extends through the publication of several papers and books. One such significant work was presented at the 11th SSI Princeton Conference in 1993, titled “Space Manufacturing 9, The High Frontier, Accession, Development, and Utilization,” under the heading “Astropolis – Space Colonization in the 21st Century,” co-authored by Antonio Germano. Additionally, his contributions span a wide array of topics, including commercial asteroid resource development, lunar base design, and the exploration of near-Earth asteroids.

Residing in Tulln, Austria, Dipl.-Ing. Werner Grandl continues to be a steadfast presence in the realm of space architecture and exploration. Grandl’s enduring commitment to advancing our understanding of space and its potential applications underscores his status as a prominent figure in the scientific community.

Near Earth Asteroids – from Danger to Utilization

We discuss the utilization of Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) for mining and building human habitats inside of some of those celestial bodies. NEAs, which are expected to contain resources like nickel-iron, platinum group metals or rare-earth elements and have a minimum density of 2 g/cm3 and a diameter of 100 to 500 m will be selected for mining. We calculate the energy that is necessary to modify the orbits of NEAs by orbital maneuvers from their solar orbits to Earth orbits. To move the NEAs by remote control, unmanned space tugs with advanced propulsion systems were designed. A pair of tugs is docked to an asteroid using drilling anchors. The rocket engines of the tugs then apply the thrust forces for the maneuvers. Once stabilized in Earth’s orbit beyond the Moon or in the Lagrange point L5 or L4, the mining process is started along the major axis of the asteroid. A manned space station will be connected to the asteroid, carrying digging, conveying and processing machinery and storage modules. A tunneling machine initially digs a central tunnel of 8 m in diameter to the centre of the asteroid. Then a spherical cave up to 50% of the NEA ́s volume is excavated. When the mass of the asteroid decreases constantly, its orbital position is stabilized by the two space tugs. The processed material is either used for industrial production in L5 or transported to Low Earth Orbit. In the last phase of the mining the inner surface of the cave is sintered by a robotic laser device. After the end of the mining process a rotating human habitat can be built inside the cave to simulate artificial gravity. The remaining shell of the asteroid will provide shelter against cosmic rays, solar flares and micrometeorites. The various materials produced by asteroid mining can be used for construction. Oxygen, hydrogen and carbon can be extracted from other carbonaceous asteroids. We propose to construct a prototype asteroid habitat in L5. Natural sunlight is collected outside the asteroid ́s shell by parabolic mirrors and beamed into the cave through the central tunnel. Urban gardening and aquaculture provides nutrition for approx. 2000 inhabitants.

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Marie-Luise Heuser

Space Renaissance International, Board of Directors,
Head of the Space Philosophy Laboratory of Space Renaissance Academy

Dr. phil. Marie-Luise Heuser, philosopher and university lecturer at the Universities of Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Heidelberg and Braunschweig, most recently at the Institute of Space Systems at the Technical University of Braunschweig. Main research interests are the philosophy of space travel, theories of space since antiquity, philosophy of technology in science fiction, philosophy of nature, metaphysics, ontology and anthropology. Publications: Transterrestrik in der Renaissance. Nikolaus von Kues, Giordano Bruno und Johannes Kepler (2008); Russischer Kosmismus und extraterrestrischer Suprematismus (2008); Space Philosophy (2016); Raumontologie und Raumfahrt um 1600 und um 1900 (2016); Return to the Moon (2020); Husserls Phänomenologie des Fliegens (2020); Der Mensch ist nicht nur für die Erde da. Schellings Philosophie des Weltraums (2020).

Historical precursors of rotating space habitats

The first rotating space stations were designed by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1903 and Hermann Noordung (Potočnik) in 1929. At that time, there was not even a rocket that would have touched space. That only came in 1942. What motivated these pioneers to design rotating space stations at a time when their realization was not even remotely conceivable? In the context of a utilitarian ethic and world view, such constructions must have seemed “useless” and dreamy. There was no quick money to be made with them. Today we have moved on and have now arrived in the Space Age. However, rotating space stations have still not been built, even though Gerald O’Neill presented them to the US Senate as feasible in the 1970s. What drove the early space pioneers? The motives for their bold innovations can be explained above all by their cultural backgrounds and basic philosophical attitudes. My presentation will not only focus on the topic of “technical precursors” (Tsiolkovsky, Potočnik, von Braun, Kubrick, O’Neill), but also on their cultural history. What spirit guided the early space pioneers and what socio-cultural movements were they involved in? Philosophically, the ontological and metaphysical relationship between possibility and reality, or what the philosopher Ernst Bloch calls the “ontology of not-yet-being”, is also worth discussing.

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Bernard Foing

Space Renaissance International, President

Prof. Foing is executive director of ILEWG International Lunar Exploration Working Group, manager of EuroMoonMars programme. Guest prof at VU Amsterdam/Leiden Observatory. Vice-chair of COSPAR Commission B (Moon, planets and small bodies) and PEX Exploration panel, chair of IAF ITACCUS committee on Socio-Cultural Utilisation of Space, and member of IAF committees (Astronomy, space habitats, exploration, traffic management), and full member of IAA since 2010. Former President of ESTEC staff committee (2012-2017), and former Chief scientist ESA ESTEC (2002-2018). He has worked at ESA Space Science Department at ESTEC (1989-2020), as visiting scientist, staff scientist, study scientist (SIMURIS, MORO lunar orbiter, EuroMoon lander), Research Unit Coordinator, Project scientist of SMART-1 (first European mission to the Moon, launched in 2003), Head of Research Division, and Chief scientist. He has been active at ILEWG (International Lunar Exploration Working Group) as president (1998-2000), from the start of MoonVillage discussions. He has been Co-Investigator of space projects such as SOHO, XMM, BIOPAN, SMART-1, Mars Express, COROT, ISS/Expose. He has published over 650 articles, including 225 refereed papers, in lunar and planetary exploration, solar/stellar physics, complex organics in space, astrobiology, instrumentation. He edited 16 books and organized over 75 international conferences and symposia. His most cited papers include the discovery of fullerene C60+ and diffuse bands in space, CoRoT-7b: the first super-Earth with measured radius, Tropical glaciation on Mars, multisite continuous spectroscopy of stars. Born in France, he was admitted at Ecole Normale Supérieure of Education & Technology, and became Professor Agrégé of Physical sciences. He obtained a PhD on Astrophysics and Space Techniques using a sounding rocket ultraviolet camera experiment at CNRS, with research stays in the US (Lockheed, SacPeak, Boulder, Harvard). He worked 3 years in Chile as astronomer for ESO European Southern Observatory, the French embassy, and as Professor of Astrophysics. Permanent researcher at CNRS Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, he obtained the Habilitation for direction of research in 1990.

Space for All, Research and Workforce Development Opportunities

coming soon

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Jerry Stone

Freelance Space Presenter
Spaceflight UK
Space Renaissance International, Board of Directors

Jerry Stone is a Freelance Space Presenter. He gave his first space presentation over 50 years ago and now he runs Spaceflight UK and gives presentations on a range of topics on astronomy and space exploration all over the UK and abroad. He is a fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. He is also a member of the Board of the Space Renaissance Initiative, and the chair of their Space Habitats Committee, and a member of the council of the Federation of Astronomical Societies, the national body that supports astronomical societies across the UK. He is described as “One of the leading speakers on space exploration”. He has spoken on space exploration at many venues, including The British Festival of Space, The Edinburgh Festival, The Farnborough Air Show, The Mars Society Conferences in the UK, Europe and the USA, Oxford University, The Palace of Westminster, The Royal Institution, The Royal Observatory Greenwich and The World Science Fiction Convention. He ran a project at the British Interplanetary Society to re-examine and update the original space habitat studies.  This became the SPACE Project –  Study Project Advancing Colony Engineering, which also resulted in a new concept called “Island Zero”, as described above.

Island Zero

Around 50 years ago, building on the work by Princeton Professor Gerard K. O’Neill, plans were produced for large-scale space habitats in orbits around the Earth. One version of these designs, to house 10,000 people, was designated as Island One, and larger ones would be Island Two and Island Three, depending on their planned population. O’Neill deliberately restricted the Island One design to costing no more than the equivalent of Project Apollo, and also to the technology available at the time. That means it could have been built in the late 1970s.  It did not go forward due to the unexpected high cost and low launch rate of the Space Shuttle, which was needed to provide the initial infrastructure. With the approach of reusable launch vehicles, and in view of advances in technology over the last 40 years, I ran a project at the British Interplanetary Society from 2013 to update the design, I pointed out that much smaller units would also be required as living quarters, workshops and offices for the task force. These were designated as Island Zero. Island Zero would be made from a number of inflatable modules. Bigelow Aerospace has produced and launched three such modules, one of which is on the International Space Station. However, none of these have been manned; they are just for testing. The ones I have proposed are of different, simple shapes, as seen in the diagrams that follow. Most importantly, the entire structure would rotate to produce simulated gravity, at rates between 2 – 4 rpm, depending on the overall diameter. This will avoid the deterioration that the human body experiences under weightlessness – to the cardiovascular, skeletal, and muscular systems – and the crew would therefore avoid the need for 2 hours of exercise every day that is needed on the ISS. This has never been done on any previous space mission, but would be necessary to provide the medical research to determine the best g-level to be used in the main habitats, and to therefore finalize their design.

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