Carmen graduated from the Medical University of Graz, Austria, in 2014. She wrote her thesis on “Effects of Artificial Gravity Exposure on Orthostatic Tolerance Times in Men and Women” in collaboration with the German Aerospace Center DLR.
From 2014 to 2017, Carmen was a general practitioner resident at Wiener Krankenanstaltenverbund (Associated Hospitals) in Vienna, Austria, where she earned her general practitioner certification and diploma.
She spent 13 months as a research medical doctor (M.D.) in the Concordia station, Antarctica, between 2017 and 2018, where she was responsible for carrying out ESA’s biomedical and psychosocial research experiments and leader of the medical rescue team.
She continued working as a research M.D. with the Space Clinic at MEDES in Toulouse, France, in 2022.
From 2020, Carmen was a Ph.D. candidate specialising in space physiology at the Institute for Sports Science at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Her research focus was on microgravity-induced changes to the cardiovascular system and blood flow to the brain.
During her professional career, Carmen earned several certificates in emergency medicine, including mountain rescue, expedition and wilderness medicine, and volunteered with psychological support services.In her leisure time, she enjoys mountaineering, free climbing, long-distance trekking, running and yoga. Her other interests include writing, Aikido, playing the piano and amateur photography.
For the first time, ESA has established a reserve pool of astronauts. This reserve list is composed of astronaut candidates who were successful throughout the entire selection process but cannot be recruited at this point in time. Astronauts in the reserve remain with their current employers and will receive a consultancy contract and basic support. They will start basic training in case a flight opportunity has been identified.

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