Marcos Pontes | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait as senator | |
| Senator for São Paulo | |
| Assumed office 1 February 2023 | |
| Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation | |
| In office 1 January 2019 – 31 March 2022 | |
| President | Jair Bolsonaro |
| Preceded by | Gilberto Kassab |
| Succeeded by | Paulo Alvim |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 March 1963 Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil |
| Political party | PL (2022–present) |
| Other political affiliations | |
| Occupation | Fighter pilot, astronaut |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Brazil |
| Branch/service |  Brazilian Air Force |
| Rank |  Lieutenant colonel |
 | |
| Status | Retired[1] |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
Time in space | 9d 21h 17m[1] |
| Selection | 1998 NASA Group |
| Missions | Soyuz TMA-8, Missão Centenário, Soyuz TMA-7 |
Mission insignia | .png){kind=small} |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Systems Engineering |
| Thesis | Polarization effects on infrared target contrast (1998) |
| Academic advisors | Alfred W. Cooper, David D. Cleary (thesis) |
| Website | www |
Marcos Cesar Pontes (born 11 March 1963) is a Brazilian Air Force pilot, engineer, AEB astronaut, politician and author. He became the first South American and the first Lusophone to go into space when he docked onto the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-8 on 30 March 2006. He is the only Brazilian to have completed the NASA astronaut training program, although he switched to training in Russia after NASA's Space Shuttle program encountered problems. After Jair Bolsonaro's election as President of Brazil in 2018, Pontes was officially nominated to be Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, a post which he accepted days later and assumed when Bolsonaro's government began.[2][3] He left the post on 31 March 2022 and in the same year was elected federal senator for his state, São Paulo.
- ^ a b "Astronaut Biography: Marcos Pontes". www.spacefacts.de. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ Gonçalves, Carolina (28 October 2018). "Bolsonaro confirma quatro ministros para seu governo" (in Portuguese). Agência Brasil. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
- ^ "Astronauta Marcos Pontes diz que aceitou convite para ser ministro de Ciência e Tecnologia" (in Portuguese). G1. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.