Philippe Schoonejans

Belgian, nuclear physicist. Worked for the European Space Agency (ESA) as project manager and senior advisor for ESA’s exploration programme. After 5 years as system engineer at Fokker Space he started in 1991 at ESA on robotics for human spaceflight. Since then he led several large projects, with as highlight the 12m long space manipulator-arm ERA, the largest space project in Dutch history, that was launched in July 2021 to the International Space Station ISS and is successfully working there since then. He was also one of the initiators of a future small space station (Lunar Gateway) which will orbit the Moon from 2027 and he led the development of the European docking system IBDM for spacecraft and space stations. Moving on to Mars he was project manager of the ESA robot which can get Mars samples to Earth for research.
Other areas of interest were and are technology development (he chaired its selection board), remote robot control, software development, cubesats, 3D printing in space, knowledge management, patents, standardization and public outreach. He always cooperated intensely with NASA, Japan, Canada and Russia.

Following his ESA career he was interim director of the Space Expo museum for almost half a year, and is now a board member of Space Expo and Chair of the Netherlands Space Society (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Ruimtevaart – NVR). He is very active in science communication, in the media and as podcast-host.

In addition, he is active in music, as board member of the Chopin Foundation Netherlands and organizes also other classical concerts, often linked to science. He lives in Amsterdam since years.