Born in Italy, Sara Pastor graduated in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Torino in 1998. After a brief experience in the automotive industry, she worked in Alenia Space in Turin (now Thales Alenia Space), before moving to ESA in 2003 at its technical site in the Netherlands.
ESA’s Columbus lab on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA-D. Pettit
Initially, Sara worked on the preparation of ESA’s Columbus laboratory for the International Space Station. She later moved to the system and operations team for the Station’s modules, focusing on Node 2, Node 3 and Cupola. Following the launch of Node 3 and Cupola in 2010, Sara returned to Columbus system sustaining engineering, where she specialised in designing and developing enhancements, first as a System Engineer, then as Team Leader in 2015.
Cupola being installed on the International Space Station in 2010. Credit: NASA
In 2018, Sara began working on the conceptual phase of the lunar Gateway. She has served as the study manager for ESA’s Lunar I-Hab for the Gateway and is now the project manager for both Lunar I-Hab and ESA’s Lunar View. Development for these projects is contracted to Thales Alenia Space in Italy and France, respectively.
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, also from Italy, watches the Pacific Ocean from the Cupola on the International Space Station. Credit: ESA/NASA
Sara is also the ESA Gateway Programme Manager, collaborating with the lunar station’s international space agency partners – NASA, the Japanese space agency JAXA, the Canadian space agency CSA and the Emirati space agency MBRSC – as well as related space industries, for the definition and construction of the Gateway, its role in the Artemis programme, and its scientific content.
Elements of the lunar Gateway, the first international space station around the Moon. Credit: ESA-K. Lochtenberg
In January 2025, Sara was appointed ESA Lunar Projects Group Leader, leading ESA’s programme for lunar exploration.
An astronaut accompanied by the robot dog Spot at the LUNA inauguration show. Credit: ESA/DLR