Gregory Benford, physicist, educator, author
Gregory Benford has published over twenty books, mostly novels. Nearly all remain in print, some after a quarter of a century. His fiction has won many awards, including the Nebula Award for his novel Timescape. A winner of the United Nations Medal for Literature, he is a professor of physics at the University of California, Irvine. He is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, was Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University, and in 1995 received the Lord Prize for contributions to science.
His 1999 analysis of what endures, Deep Time: How Humanity Communicates Across Millennia, has been widely read. A fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences, he continues his research in both astrophysics and plasma physics. Time allowing, he continues to write both fiction and nonfiction.

Bruno Gardini, Aurora Project Manager
Bruno Gardini is responsible for the Space Exploration Programme “Aurora” of the European Space Agency (ESA).
In early 2001, he was among the core group that worked on the “Aurora” programme, then in its preparatory phase, and followed it up to the programme approval in December 2005. In July 2005 he was nominated Aurora Exploration Programme Manager in the newly created ESA Directorate for Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration (D/HME) at ESTEC in Noordwijk. The Aurora Programme includes the newly approved ExoMars mission, due to launch in 2013, preparatory activities for the Mars Sample Return Mission and a programme of enabling technologies for future exploration missions.
B. Gardini was born in 1947 in Cuneo, Italy. He holds a University Degree (cum Laude) in Electrical Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino and was assistant professor for Electrical Engineering and Automatic Control Theory before joining the European Space Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk as research fellow for two years in 1975. At the end of the fellowship he joined the Ulysses Project at Dornier System in Friedrichshafen, Germany in charge of the Attitude Control and Propulsion System. At the end of 1981 he returned to ESTEC and shortly afterwards joined the EURECA Project, responsible for the Attitude Control and the Microgravity measurement systems and became, in 1989, the System Engineering Manager for the SOHO mission. In 1993 he was nominated ENVISAT Project Manager and became Rosetta Project Manager in 1998.

James Harris, Chief Engineer FMars longduration simulation 2007
James Harris is a network support supervisor at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas. A sixth generation Texan, he has worked as a lifeguard, electrician, computer design and production technician, and chef. Currently an undergraduate pursuing a double major in Computer Science and Computer Engineering, James hopes to acquire an advanced degree in data communications by the time he reaches his 45th birthday. He currently holds an Associate of Science degree in Computer Science, many technical certifications in network administration, various emergency response certifications, and various OSHA approved heavy equipment certifications. His hobbies include motorcycles, hunting and camping, darts, and amateur astronomy.
As a member of the Mars Society since 1999 James is active on the web and database teams and serves as Webmaster for the Political Task Force. In addition James has been a member of the Mars Society Steering Committee since 2006. Most recently James served as Chief Engineer and Medical Officer for the FMARS 11 Long Duration Mission (F-XI LDM). He has also served on two MDRS Crews (22 and 34) in addition to several engineering refit trips to MDRS.

Judith Lapierre
Prof. Dr. Judith Lapierre is a space scientist of the human and health sciences domain. Her current work is in cyberhealth at the Université du Québec in Hull, specializing in mission support strategies to improve human health and adaptation to extreme confined environments. She was in Antarctica in 1998 as part of her postdoctorate research program with the International Space University based in Strasbourg. She was also representing the Canadian Space Agency in 2000 during the longest international confinement experiment and has volunteered in July 2001 in mission support, Denver-Colorado for the FMARS missions of the Mars Society. At the moment Judith Lapierre is a professor and general manager at the faculty Sciences Infirmières.

Alastair Reynolds, scientist, science fiction writer
Alastair Reynolds was born in 1966 in Berry, Wales. After studying physics and astronomy in Newcastle and St. Andrews, Scotland, he moved to the Netherlands in 1991 and has been living there ever since.
He worked as ESA Research Fellow (1991-1994) and as Post-Doc in Utrecht University (1994-1996) and returned to ESA between 1997 and 2004, before leaving to turn full-time writer.
Reynolds started writing science fiction when still a graduate student. His first novel, Revelation Space was published in 2000, followed by Chasm City, Redemption Ask, Absolution Gap, Century Rain, Pushing Ice and The Prefect.
Many of his novels and short stories, though not all of them, are set in the so-called Revelation Space universe, five hundred years from now. Century Rain, on the other hand, is an intriguing mix of hard science fiction and French detective.
Reynolds is currently working on a new novel entitled House of Suns.

Jerry Stone, presenter on astronomy and space exploration
Jerry Stone has given lectures on space for almost 40 years and has held public exhibitions since 1975. In the 1980’s he was on the curatorial staff at the Science Museum, where he covered the Astronomy, Space and Exploration collections, including the Apollo 10 spacecraft. He is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and the Royal Astronomical Society, Chairman of the Space Education Council and a Director of the Mars Society UK.

Robert Zubrin, ceo Pioneer Astronautics, founder Mars Society
Dr. Zubrin is the president of Pioneer Astronautics. He has a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Rochester (1974), a M.S. in Nuclear Engineering (1984), a M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics (1986), and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering (1992), all from the University of Washington. A former member of NASA's Mars Exploration Long Term Strategy Working Group, Dr. Zubrin has over 100 technical and non-technical publications in various areas of astronautical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering, and is the editor for Mars Exploration of the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. He is the holder of one US Patent, and has two more pending for advanced space transportation concepts.

Alessandro Atzei, Spacecraft Systems Engineer, ESA
Alessandro Atzei is working at the Technical Centre of the European Space Agency in the Netherlands. After working for the Mars Express program, he has been study manager of several mission concepts related to the exploration of Jupiter and Europa and is currently working for the Gaia mission as Spacecraft Systems Engineer. Next to the activities for ESA he is also co-editor of a Dutch spaceflight magazine and gives presentations on space related topics.

Frans Blok, co-founder and board member of Mars Society Nerherlands
Frans studied architecture at Delft University of Technology and after graduation specialized in computer aided visualization techniques. The specific requirements and unprecedented possibilities related to building on another world are important drivers for his fascination for Mars. The design of the EuroMARS interior, together with a group of European architects, provided a chance to combine several of his passions.
When not thinking about Mars, Frans is probably involved with one of his other favourite activities, like cooking, hiking, yoga, meditation, dancing, reading, photography or writing. Or you can find him in a cinema in his hometown, Rotterdam movie city.
Frans considers Ladakh (Northern India) and Iceland the most beautiful places on Earth, probably due to their close resemblance to Mars

Erik Boslooper
After graduating from Delft University (Applied Physics) in 1988 Erik Boslooper, started working in the Dutch space industry. Since then, he has been involved in a number of projects in various functions. One of the main projects was SCIAMACHY, the Dutch-German spectrometer for atmospheric research aboard the Envisat satellite. In 2001 he joined TNO Science & Industry where he currently, as project manager, is responsible for the combined Raman-LIBS spectrometer, to be flown on the EXOMARS rover payload.

Pierre Brulhet, architect and author
Pierre Brulhet was born in 1971 in France. He is an architect and works in an architect's office in Paris. He created a Martian base for his diploma in 1999. After that he joined the French Chapter of the Mars Society (Association Planète Mars). In january 2002, with the participation of A.P.M, Pierre, Olivier Walter and their architecture students exhibited the projects of Martian bases (interactive CD, 3D films, panels) at the Palais de la Découverte in Paris. A few months later, Pierre joined the European chapters working on the Euro-Mars habitat inside lay out definition. In September 2002, he held a conference with A.P.M at CNES Paris, about "Architecture and concepts" and "the Euro-Mars simulated habitat project; the French concept; the European project" with Olivier Walter. In 2005, Pierre realized a Martian base model (1/40) with a design school (Strate College Designer in Issy-les-Moulineaux). The model was exhibited in many different places (Le Bourget airshow at the EADS stand, Cité de l'espace in Toulouse - France).
Today a first design of Euro-Mars has been achieved. Pierre Brulhet, with Olivier Walter, gives lectures and conferences and conducts a study with a group of students from the Strate College Designer, under the direction of Francis Winisdoerfer (EADS space architect), on the Euro-Mars base project for installation in Iceland.

Teun van den Dool, System Architect/Engineer at TNO
Teun van den Dool received a masters degree in engineering physics and control from the university of Groningen in the Netherlands in 1999. At TNO he started as an engineer in the development of acoustic monitoring and active noise and vibration control systems. Over the last 10 years he has been working as a system engineer in lithographic and astronomical instrumentation. Recently he was the system engineer for 2 optical delay lines of which one breadboard ODL for the DARWIN space based interferometer.

Gernot Groemer, president Österreichisches Weltraum Forum
Gernot Groemer born 1975, has a masters degree in astronomy from the University of Innsbruck/Austria. The degree also includes research sojourns in Italy and Chile. He is an alumnus of the International Space University (Houston 1997) and worked as an ISU Teching Assistant in Cleveland. Since 1992, he also serves in the Red Cross Emergency Medical Services as a paramedic and coordinates the medical training of the Tyrolean Water Rescue services.
He is involved in several space related organisations such as the UN Space Generation Advisory Council and the LunarSat project. As a board member of the Austrian Space Forum he is actively involved in fostering space projects in the small country and demonstrating that space research can have a significant benefit for our daily lives.

Richard Heidmann, president of the Association Planète Mars, space propulsion engineer
Richard Heidmann, a space propulsion engineer, graduated at École Polytechnique and École Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace, in Paris.
He spent most of his career in the field of liquid rocket propulsion systems, within Snecma. He was involved in the genesis and in the development of the European Ariane launchers, holding successively various positions: system studies manager, deputy manager for engine design teams, quality manager, programs and commercial director. He spent the last years of his career at the Snecma group headquarters, as director for Research & Technology strategy orientation. He retired in 2002.
Since 1998, he has taken an active role in promoting Space exploration, as a founding member of The Mars Society and as the head of its French chapter, Association Planète Mars. He is a member of the Steering Committee of The Mars Society. He participated in the MDRS 43 mission in Utah, in February 2006.
In parallel to this activity, he has continued to participate in various working groups related to space propulsion and space exploration, managed by organizations such as AAAF (Association Aéronautique et Astronautique de France), CNES (French Space Agency), ESA (European Space Agency), ESPI (European Space Policy Institute), ISU (International Space University), CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies)…
Richard Heidmann, 63 years old, is married and the father of two children.

Jürgen Herholz, Dipl.-Ing. Space Project Engineering & Management
Jürgen Herholz received in 1964 his Masters Degree in electronics at the Technical University of Berlin. Until 1969 he worked in the field of aircraft electronics, for which he was stationed in the US half a year. Herholz did system development for the solar satellite Helios. 1972 he joined manned spaceflight projects, such as SPACELAB, EURECA and HERMES, first for MBB/ERNO/ASTRIUM, then for ESA from 1987 to 1998. Since 1998 he is doing consultancy for ESA.

Erik Laan, technical specialist, member of the board of the Dutch Space Society
Erik Laan got his degree in physics and astronomy at the Free University of Amsterdam. After his study he started at Fokker Space with a project at proposing an optical instrument for an European remote sensing satellite. A year followed at SRON, the Dutch institute for space research, where he also worked on optical instruments for remote sensing.
Today Erik is employed by Dutch Space where he is involved in instruments en robotic devices for planetary science and devices for the ISS. In parallel he is working towards a PhD thesis, in collaboration with Technical University Delft, on the topic of Planetary Atmospheres. Erik is also member of the board of the Dutch Space Society.

Vyron Lymberopoulos
A passion for space exploration was instilled by the Apollo program. After graduating from the Rijksluchtvaartschool (Governmental pilot training program) in 1989 he entered service with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Serving as first officer for six years was the preparation for his first captaincy on a 737 in 1996.
Currently he commands an Airbus A330, building airbridges from The Netherlands to countries like Iran, Kuwait, Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Qatar, Kazakhstan, the United States, Canada and Great Britain. He has gained extensive experience as an instructor during line flights.
Since 2002 he found time to study a wide range of subjects and regained the passion for space exploration. In 2004 he wrote the Essay; Suicide bomber or Explorer of space; That's the question. A tractate where he proposes a worldwide program of cooperation in space exploration as a development driver and war avoiding strategy.

Jennifer Ngo-Anh, Exploration Life Scientist, manager Mars500-project
Dr. Dr. Thu Jennifer Ngo-Anh is an Exploration Life Scientist in the Directorate for Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration (D/HME) at the European Space Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk. She is managing the Mars500 programme, an isolation and confinement study, which is carried out jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) and aims at simulating a full human mission to Mars.
TJ Ngo-Anh holds a medical degree from the Eberhard-Karl-University in Tübingen and in 2006 received her PhD in the field of neurosciences from the Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland, Oregon (USA) before joining the Life Science Unit of ESTEC in Noordwijk as a Young Graduate Trainee. Besides managing the Mars500 programme, she is also coordinating current projects such as bed-rest studies on-ground as well as human physiology and radiation experiments on-board the International Space Station.

Michel van Pelt, spaceflight engineer, author
Michel van Pelt has worked for eight years at the European Space Agency. most recently as a cost ans systems engineer at their technical center in the Netherlands. His involvement in many phases of ESA projects has given him unique insight into the definition, conceptional design, development, launch and operation of spacecraft, as well as the scientific, technical, financial and political issues and constraints that shape spacecraft development. The author of many articles on space, Van Pelt is also an editor and writer for two Dutch spaceflight magazines. Van Pelt has publishes two books about spaceflight.

Iahu-Anat Westenberg, student and aspiring biologist
Iahu-Anat Westenberg has been one of the tens of thousands of Dutch Children who participated in the 'Seeds in Space' experiment of the Dutch astronaut André Kuipers, when he went to the International Space Station for his DELTA mission in 2004. And she met André a few weeks later talking with him about human missions to Mars, of which André Kuipers is a staunch supporter.
Iahu-Anat lives in a suburb of Rotterdam and is in her first year of comprehensive school. Iahu-Anat hopes to be a scientist and is willing to work hard to achieve her goal. Her mom would not be surprised if that Science turns out to be geology as she has been collecting stones, and cleaving them, from a very early age without any prompting from her parents. Recently she realised that she enjoys Biology a lot too. A killer combination when on Mars…..
For the past 5 years Iahu-Anat has wanted to be a crewmember in one of the habitats, always being told that she had to wait until she was 18. Thus when Veronica Zabala, the commander of the F.L.A.M.E. crews, asked for a crew engineer she urged her mom to apply for the job as this was her chance, finally, to participate.

Arno Wielders, scientist, founder Space Horizon, co-founder Mars Society Netherlands
Arno Wielders (1973) got his masters degree in Physics in 1997 from the Free University of Amsterdam. After graduation he was hired by the Leiden Observatory from the Leiden University to work at Dutch Space in the Very Large Telescope Interferometer Delay Line project. In 2002 he received his TWAIO (two year PhD like research) certificate and started as a research scientist at the Space Department of TNO in Delft. At TNO he was heavily involved in the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) project recently launched by NASA. He was also responsible for doing research in metrology systems for formation flying satellites, which included project proposals related to several missions for ESA.
In 1998 he co-founded the Mars Society Nederland, part of the international Mars Society with the aim of promoting and supporting a human mission to the Red planet.
In 2004 he started Space Horizon, a small project agency, involved in current and future space exploration. Space Horizon is currently involved in a large project concerning space tourism in the Netherlands and instrument developments for planetary and astrophysics mission. At the EMC7 he will present a new project in the exploration of Mars.