ESA astronaut finishes volcanic geology training on Lanzarote
European Space Agency astronaut Pablo Álvarez completed three weeks of field geology training on Spain's Lanzarote island. On September 26 he met the PANGAEA team at Tinguatón after traverses in which astronauts identified rocks, lava units and volcanic events. The training aims to help crews describe and sample unfamiliar terrain for planetary scientists. Álvarez has no confirmed lunar assignment; the exercise prepares skills for possible future missions.
Science··Evening
Álvarez completes three weeks on volcanic terrain
European Space Agency astronaut Pablo Álvarez finished three weeks of field geology training on Lanzarote, Spain, and appeared with the PANGAEA team at Tinguatón on September 26. He met project lead Loredana Bessone and island officials in the Volcanoes Natural Park. The encounter followed traverses through several parts of the island, where astronauts practised recognizing rocks, lava units and the sequence of eruptions recorded in the ground. EFE reported Álvarez's account from the site; La Voz de Lanzarote separately covered the same gathering and the island's role in the training. PANGAEA is ESA's exercise for geological and astrobiological work on future planetary missions. The completed course is a step in crew preparation, not a flight assignment or a new finding about the Moon.[1], [2]
Lava layers become a field lesson
Lanzarote's exposed volcanic formations gave trainees practice in reading a landscape beyond memorizing rock names. Álvarez said the course changed how he sees a mountain: its slopes preserve evidence of several distinct volcanic episodes. On the traverses, crews identified materials and traces of earlier eruptions. That skill matters when an astronaut describes an unfamiliar surface to scientists directing work from afar. Álvarez described crews as the scientists' eyes and hands in space and stressed the need to speak the same geological language. He characterized the island as dry and its lava fields as well preserved, with separate episodes still visible. The course offers a terrestrial setting for observation, description and sampling practice ahead of possible planetary fieldwork.[1]
Geopark conservation supports the exercise
La Voz de Lanzarote reported that island council president Oswaldo Betancort used the Tinguatón meeting to emphasize the UNESCO Lanzarote and Chinijo Archipelago geopark's conservation and research functions. Those protected geological settings are part of why the training can return to legible volcanic terrain. The local account centered on the geopark, while EFE's interview centered on the astronaut's field experience; both described the same PANGAEA gathering. Álvarez said this was his first training of this type. His nearer personal hope is a first trip to the International Space Station before 2030. He also said much work remains before a Spanish astronaut could walk on the Moon, and did not suggest he had been selected for such a mission. For now, the documented outcome is completed field preparation on Lanzarote, with future spaceflight plans still separate from this course.[1], [2]
