Fields of Application for Satellite Technology

Simonetta di Pippo, Director of UNOOSA, has experience in the space sector for around 40 years. She has been involved in some very instrumental missions, from those which helped to discover water on Mars, to landing on and exploring a comet, to those that helped sustain human life on the ISS. Her aspiration in life is to have a profession that allows her to work and learn at the same time, with her current career affording her this dream. Curiosity and diversity are both crucial in her opinion for innovation and it is her personal and professional goal to encourage more women to pursue STEM education and careers.

Simonetta di Pippo, Director of UNOOSA, has experience in the space sector for around 40 years. She has been involved in some very instrumental missions, from those which helped to discover water on Mars, to landing on and exploring a comet, to those that helped sustain human life on the ISS. Her aspiration in life is to have a profession that allows her to work and learn at the same time, with her current career affording her this dream. Curiosity and diversity are both crucial in her opinion for innovation and it is her personal and professional goal to encourage more women to pursue STEM education and careers.

Mina Konaka works at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as a satellite engineer and is currently working on the satellite ALOS-4, which can detect changes in groundwater on land. She attended the International Space University, participating in the project AWARE (Adapting to Water and Air Realities on Earth), in which participants aimed to provide solutions for flood and air quality risks due to climate change, using earth observation data and ground-based sensors. Mina feels strongly about the need to talk more globally about water management solutions, rather than on an individual country basis. Mina also hopes that in the future there will be more female engineers who pursue dreams of space, and that gender balance is no longer an issue.

Mina Konaka works at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as a satellite engineer and is currently working on the satellite ALOS-4, which can detect changes in groundwater on land. She attended the International Space University, participating in the project AWARE (Adapting to Water and Air Realities on Earth), in which participants aimed to provide solutions for flood and air quality risks due to climate change, using earth observation data and ground-based sensors. Mina feels strongly about the need to talk more globally about water management solutions, rather than on an individual country basis. Mina also hopes that in the future there will be more female engineers who pursue dreams of space, and that gender balance is no longer an issue.