Anastasia Stepanova

Anastasia has participated in numerous experiments and projects aimed at better understanding of the effects of space travel on the human body, as well as simulating the conditions of a manned expedition to the Moon and Mars. Currently she is a PhD candidate in Space Resources at Colorado School of Mines.  

As the first female test subject in the world in the "Dry Immersion" experiment, organized by Institute of Biomedical Problems of Russian Academy of Sciences, Anastasia helped to advance understanding of the female body's adaptive reactions to gravity unloading. Anastasia was a mission specialist in an experiment SIRIUS19 organized by Institute of Biomedical Problems of Russian Academy of Sciences and NASA Human Research Program.  This project simulated the conditions of an expedition to the Moon with isolation of the international crew in a ground-based experimental space station for 120 days. 

In 2016 Anastasia became a health and safety officer, crew journalist in international project “Mars160” organized by Mars Society. The Mars 160 research experiment took place over a period of 80 days at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in southern Utah and 40 days at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) at uninhabitable Devon island.

Anastasia worked as an engineer providing SIRIUS mission support and operations at the Institute of Biomedical Problems and volunteered as a rescuer at a public search and rescue squad in Moscow before pursuing her PhD. She is also an ambassador for the charity project "Unity," which is dedicated to fulfilling the dreams of children with cancer by sending their paintings to space.

In addition to her scientific work, Anastasia is also a space journalist and co-author of the book "I wish you a good flight!", which was written under the guidance of cosmonaut Yuriy Baturin.