Astronaut Sara García Alonso stirs up the UPV

In front of an audience eager to know what an astronaut is really like and what you have to do to get there, Sara García Alonso took part in the Leer conCiencia meeting, a space for open dialogue to talk about books, science, and her own experiences that have led her to become a reference in the field of technology and science.

More than 400 people participated in this event organized by the Universitat Politècnica de València to listen to the first Spanish astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA). The audience included a large number of children and teenagers who, taking advantage of the day off from school in the city of Valencia, took the opportunity to meet and even ask one of our best-known scientists several questions.

From bullying to family support

Sara presented her book ‘Órbitas’ and shared her professional and personal experiences without skipping any topic. Commitment, discipline, and continuous learning are some of the values that underpin the first Spanish astronaut, a reference for many children and young people. For this reason, García Alonso stressed the importance of not putting up barriers. ‘It is important to let children grow, experiment, and dream. My parents allowed me to fly. As a child you can explore, enjoy, and learn without having to decide what you want to do when you grow up’, explained Sara García. During the talk, she spoke about some personal experiences such as bullying, ‘wounds that affect you a lot as an adult and can do a lot of damage. My advice is to share that suffering with friends, educators, and family because it can be very liberating.

The Leonese astronaut also recalled some very significant dates for her, such as the day she received a call from the ESA director confirming that, after a very difficult selection process, he had confirmed that she had been selected. ‘It was very nice, a mixture of disbelief and pride,’ said Sara.

New space age

García Alonso answered questions from many children, including on issues such as space tourism. ‘The fact that there are more space flights, also for tourism, allows us to learn more about this technology, so in a way it is beneficial for us. However, I think that we have to prioritize professional trips, with a purpose beyond pure tourist enjoyment,’ Sara argued.

One of her future dreams is to be able to go to the International Space Station before it closes - planned for 2030 - as she believes that ‘it is one of the greatest engineering works and its research has enabled many advances to be made for society’.

He also explained how we are currently experiencing a new space era with the emergence of many private companies that, together with the space agencies of many countries, are democratizing space and creating a new scenario for research.

After the talk, Sara García Alonso signed her book to nearly 200 people who approached her to receive a dedication in her own handwriting.

The first astronaut

Sara García Alonso, born in León in 1989, is a molecular biologist at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre. She was chosen, out of 23,000 candidates, to join the Astronaut Corps of the European Space Agency (ESA). In October 2024, she started the first of three two-month astronaut reserve training programs at ESA's European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne (Germany).

Leer conCiencia

Sara García Alonso is the second guest to participate in UPV's Leer conCiencia project. The first was the journalist José Luis Sastre, with his book ‘Las frases robadas’.

Promoted this year by the UPV, with the support of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) of the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, this initiative fuses literature, science, popularisation, and current affairs in an entertaining and didactic way.

You can watch the full talk here:

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