ESA title
Moon

Faces Behind Gateway – Sara Pastor: I-Hab project manager

Posted on Friday March 5th, 2021 by julien

In late 2020, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) finalised an agreement to collaborate on the Gateway, with ESA committing to contributing habitation and refueling modules and enhanced lunar communications. This agreement expands NASA’s long-time International Space Station partnership with the European agency to NASA’s Artemis program efforts. The Gateway will provide a sustainable, reusable, and reliable […]

In late 2020, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) finalised an agreement to collaborate on the Gateway, with ESA committing to contributing habitation and refueling modules and enhanced lunar communications. This agreement expands NASA’s long-time International Space Station partnership with the European agency to NASA’s Artemis program efforts. The Gateway will provide a sustainable, reusable, and reliable outpost for astronauts and a staging point for deep space exploration. Developed by NASA and a team of international partners, including ESA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Gateway will be a critical part of returning to the Moon.

Sara Pastor, ESA’s International Habitation Module Project Manager

Sara Pastor’s passion for space was born out of curiosity during her high school years. She would constantly wonder what is next in space exploration and how much farther humans can travel. Driven by this curiosity, Sara pursued degrees in aerospace engineering, specializing in systems engineering for aircraft and space systems from the Polytechnic University of Turin in Italy.

As an adventure seeker, Sara is always looking for the next project or challenge. Throughout her career, she has embarked on many new challenges and emerged on top. She started her career at Thales Alenia Space, a customer for ESA. She then began working for ESA as a contractor before securing a role as a permanent employee.

Sara joined the Gateway program in 2016, in the early stages of development, while still supporting the space station program. She became fully dedicated to the Gateway program in May 2020 as the International Habitation (I-HAB) module project manager working in the Exploration and Robotic Directorate at ESA. She is responsible for designing, developing, and verifying the I-Hab module or the pressurized living quarters for visiting astronauts on the Gateway. Sara also manages the European industrial procurement activities, leads the ESA project team, and supports upper management in discussions with ESA stakeholders and international partners.

As someone who was not part of the generation that saw the first man walk on the Moon, Pastor is excited to watch humanity move forward to the Moon, sustainably with the Gateway.

I-Hab for Gateway. Credits: ESA

“NASA makes [ESA] feel like we are part of the same team. One of the major inspiring experiences in my professional life was seeing how the NASA team handled a major anomaly on [the International Space Station], all together to solve it, rather than trying to point fingers at others immediately. I see the same attitude on the Gateway team as well,” said Sara.

Sara grew up in a small village in the Italian Alps and now lives in the Netherlands with her husband, two daughters, and their dog. She enjoys hiking, skiing and loves discovering new cultures when traveling around the world. While at home, Sara draws mandalas to calm her mind and sharpen her concentration.

This blog entry was copied from NASA’s series of profiles featuring the team behind Gateway. To read the previous features, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/in-lunar-orbit