Photo taken in the National Air Mail VIP room with Astronaut and Minister of Science and Technology Marcos Pontes.
Marcos Cesar Pontes (Bauru, March 11, 1963) is a lieutenant colonel of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), currently in the reserve, engineer, cosmonaut and Brazilian politician affiliated with the Social Liberal Party (PSL). In October 2018 he was elected second alternate senator on the ticket headed by Major Olímpio. He was Minister of Science, Technology and Innovations in the Jair Bolsonaro Government (2019–2022).
He was the first Brazilian, South American and Lusophone astronaut to go to space, on the mission named “Centenary Mission”, in reference to the celebration of the centenary of Santos Dumont’s flight on the 14 Bis airplane. On March 30, 2006, he departed for the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-8, with eight Brazilian scientific experiments to be carried out in a microgravity environment. He returned on April 8, aboard the Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft. With the feat, Pontes became the first Brazilian and fifth Latin American to go to space.
From 2011 to 2018, he served as ambassador of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). On October 31, 2018, Marcos Pontes accepted President Jair Bolsonaro’s invitation to be Minister of Science and Technology in his government.
He was the first Brazilian, South American and Lusophone astronaut to go to space, on the mission named “Centenary Mission”, in reference to the celebration of the centenary of Santos Dumont’s flight on the 14 Bis airplane. On March 30, 2006, he departed for the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-8, with eight Brazilian scientific experiments to be carried out in a microgravity environment. He returned on April 8, aboard the Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft. With the feat, Pontes became the first Brazilian and fifth Latin American to go to space.
From 2011 to 2018, he served as ambassador of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). On October 31, 2018, Marcos Pontes accepted President Jair Bolsonaro’s invitation to be Minister of Science and Technology in his government.