Space Exploration – Possibilities and challenges for the Future 

From graduating high school to becoming an airborne ranger, Marcus’s journey has been nothing short of extraordinary. His academic prowess led him to Chalmers University of Technology, where he earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering while excelling in military leadership at the Karlberg Military Academy.

As a fighter pilot with the Swedish Air Force, Marcus participated in international exercises and operational deployments. In 2006, he founded Intuitech AB, focusing on tactical pilot training, before joining SAAB Aeronautics as an experimental test pilot. Rising through the ranks, Marcus now serves as chief test pilot and head of flight operations.

Recognised for his exceptional performance, Marcus was selected for the ESA astronaut reserve in 2022. He joined the European Astronaut Corps as an ESA project astronaut in 2023, embarking on a commercial spaceflight mission with Axiom Space. Marcus’s journey epitomizes excellence in aerospace exploration.

Space Exploration – Possibilities and challenges for the Future 

Since April 2017, Christer has held the prestigious position of professor in Space Travel, following four years as an adjunct professor seconded from the European Space Agency.

At KTH, Christer serves as the director of the KTH Space Center, a role he assumed in March 2014. Under his guidance, the center has flourished as a hub for cutting-edge research in space exploration.

Christer’s research focuses on particles in space, particularly radiation aboard the International Space Station (ISS), and he leads a pioneering project studying ultra-high energy cosmic rays through the JEM-EUSO initiative.

In academia, Christer oversees the AeroSpace Master program, where he teaches the course Human Spaceflight (SD2905), imparting invaluable knowledge from his extensive experience.

Climate change observed by four decades of meteorological satellites over Europe: Lessons learned and future directions

Abhay Devasthale is docent in atmospheric sciences at the Stockholm university and a research leader at SMHI. He is responsible for the research area on “climate monitoring and research using remote sensing”. His research currently focuses on using satellite data for climate adaptation, in particular in the agriculture and energy sectors.

After receiving his Master’s degree in Remote Sensing from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai India in 2002, he moved to Hamburg (Germany) to pursue his doctoral and post-doctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology and the University of Hamburg. Since 2008, he is working at the research and development department of SMHI in Norrköping, Sweden. He has over 20 years of experience in using satellite data for various climate applications and research. 

Remote Sensing in the Deep Learning Era: Challenges and Opportunities

Yonghao Xu is an ELLIIT Assistant Professor at the Computer Vision Laboratory (CVL), Linköping University, Sweden.

He received his Ph.D. degrees in photogrammetry and remote sensing from Wuhan University, China, in 2021. From 2021 to 2023, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Institute of Advanced Research in Artificial Intelligence (IARAI), Austria. He was a recipient of the First Place award in the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) Data Fusion Contest in 2018. Since 2022, he has been working as the co-lead of the Benchmarking Working Group in the IEEE GRSS Image Analysis and Data Fusion Technical Committee. His research interests include remote sensing, computer vision, and machine learning.

Commercialization of Space

Martijn van Delden is the Head of Business Strategy – Europe Consumer for Project Kuiper. He joined Amazon in Q4 of 2022, and in his role is responsible for go-to-market strategy, planning and strategic partnerships within Europe. He has previously worked in various roles for KPN, including on the introduction of 4G in the Netherlands. Within the satellite industry, he has previously worked for both O3b, during which he supported the commercial launch of O3b’s MEO constellation, and SES.

Earth Observation & Intelligence and Defence & Security

Swedish Space Force, lieutenant colonel Johan Nystrom, Chief Space Plans and Capability Development, and Swedish Army Space Coordinator. Space is a recognized as one of five military domains. The space domain have however large effects on the combined warfighting capabilities. The presentation will include military and security perspectives on space services as an enabler and force multiplier.

Lieutenant colonel Johan Nystrom has a professional background in the Swedish Army and Joint Force Command, with numerus of experience from various operations and deployments. Currently he is assigned to the Swedish Air Force Air Component Command and responsible of the development of the space capability in the Swedish Armed Forces and the Swedish Army. Among other things, he also holds a master of war science and master of criminal justice.