Side Events

Nisanur Eker is an aspiring engineer for the NewSpace company DcubeD and a student pursuing her master’s degree in Aerospace at Technical University of Munich. Born and raised in Turkey, she moved to Germany to obtain her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. During her studies, she led two subsystems within her university’s student satellite project. She was responsible for structure, assembly, integration & testing of the 6U CubeSat and she increased the public visibility of the project as the Head of Public Relations. She was part of two stratospheric balloon flights testing the systems of the satellite and acquiring knowledge of the near-space conditions and its effects to educate fellow students. Nowadays, she helps satellites unleash their full potential by enabling deployables and more at DcubeD. Nisanur’s contributions to space was recognised with the Emerging Space Leaders Grant by International Astronautical Federation in 2022.

Lara Zanoni is Marketing Manager at AstroAgency – global leader in space-focused strategic communications and market intelligence. Lara works with both government and commercial organisations to bring their marketing vision and narratives to life, through the coordination of marketing analysis, branding activities, public relations, event management and digital marketing. With a background in Business and Economics, she holds a Master’s degree in Corporate Communications, Marketing and Public Relations from Leeds University Business School, where she has been awarded the Outstanding Academic Performance Prize for her cohort. Before joining AstroAgency, Lara held marketing roles across Europe, with experience working in Munich and in Milan. Member of the Space Generation Advisory Council since 2020, she has also recently joined the External Relations Team of SEDS Italy, to support promoting the space sector and its benefits to the general public and students of her home country.

Fiorella Arias is a Biotechnology Engineering student pursuing a career in Space Biology and Science Diplomacy. She was named by the Allbiotech organization as Latin American Leader in Biotechnology 2021; and as Emerging Space Leader 2021 by the International Astronautical Federation. She is co-founder of Orbital Space Technologies, the first Central American company to provide aerospace mission-driven consulting, currently working on their first mission related to fungi dual culturing under microgravity conditions, remarked as the 2nd Costa Rican Space Mission, Phase 1 to be launched in Nov 2022. Also, she is part of the MUSA Project, winner of ICECubes category: First Place and the International Academy of Astronautics Award at the Tokyo 2019 Mission Idea Contest hosted by UNISEC. In addition, Fiorella is a recognized young activist for political activism such as fighting against gender political violence and humanizing politics for actual change. She has served as Head of Office for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica. Fiorella is currently working on the construction of the Costa Rica National Bioeconomy Law as an advisor to the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica.

Bethelhem Girma is a Co-founder and CEO at Afrobots Engineering PLC, a startup aimed at providing robotic solutions for African industries. Previously, Bethelhem worked as an Assistant Researcher at the Space Science and Geospatial Institute, formerly known as the Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute. With over two years of experience in aerospace vehicle design and development, Bethelhem has gained a deep understanding of the need for aerospace technology in the horn of Africa. Bethlehem holds a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She aspires to become a space tech entrepreneur and make a positive impact on the youth in Africa.

Filippo Oggionni is co-founder and CCO of Revolv Space, a space tech startup aiming to enable continuous operations for small satellites. Filippo was born and raised in Bergamo (Italy). After spending one year in the US for an academic exchange, he has earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Milano. He then moved to the Netherlands to continue his studies in Space Flight at Delft University of Technology, where he wrote his MSc thesis about the trajectory design of a space-based geoengineering mission. There, he was also working part-time to develop the TU Delft Astrodynamics Toolbox (Tudat). Besides his studies, Filippo has gained experience in remote sensing and Earth Observation thanks to an internship at the Netherlands Institute for Space Research, where he worked on the monitoring of TROPOMI (Sentinel 5-P). In addition, he has conducted an internship at the Observatory of Paris about the analysis of solar events, where he focused on the relationship between solar geomagnetic activity and the thermospheric density in Low Earth Orbit. For Revolv, Filippo takes care of the commercialization of the products and the validation of the value proposition. He is also responsible for partnerships and marketing activities. Privately, Filippo is a passionate volleyball player, cyclist, and climber.