Arnaud Maurice Michel Flouf Prost (born November 6, 1992) is a French

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

professional diver Professional diving is underwater diving where the divers are paid for their work. Occupational diving has a similar meaning and applications. The procedures are often regulated by legislation and codes of practice as it is an inherently hazar ...

, and astronaut reservist in the

European Astronaut Corps The European Astronaut Corps is a unit of the European Space Agency (ESA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members on U.S. and Russian space missions. The corps has 13 active members, able to serve on the International Space St ...

Early life and education

Prost entered

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

in 2012, after completing two years of preparatory classes in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

at Lycée Thiers in Marseille. He underwent his initial military training as a Polytechnician officer candidate (EOX) in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

, being assigned the rank of

aspirant Aspirant is usually an officer cadet rank used in armies, navies and air forces. In Western Christianity, an aspirant is the first stage in becoming a monastic. Religious use In Western Christianity, the term is also used in reference to rel ...

and trained at the

1st Parachute Hussar Regiment The 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment () is an airborne cavalry unit in the French Army, founded in 1720 by Hungarian noble Ladislas Ignace de Bercheny. It is stationed in Tarbes and is a part of the 11th Parachute Brigade. Creation and differen ...

. He obtained his military parachutist badge and began a career in sport parachuting, completing over 200 freefall jumps. Upon graduation, he was promoted to second lieutenant. He conducted research at NASA's

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, studying potential landing sites for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. From 2015 to 2016, he worked as a professional diver and engineer at the Space and Innovation Department of the COMEX in Marseille, as part of the Moonwalk project, focusing on underwater Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) simulations and astronaut-robot cooperation in analog environments. In 2016, he was appointed as an engineer in the French Armament Corps within the

Direction générale de l'armement The Direction générale de l'armement (, , abbr. DGA), established in 1961, is the French Government defence procurement and technology agency, responsible within the Ministry of Armed Forces for project management, development, and purchase of ...

(DGA). In 2017, he received his engineering degree from ISAE-SUPAERO (conception and operation of space systems) and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in astrophysics, space sciences, and planetology from the

Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier University Paul Sabatier University (''Université Paul Sabatier'' , UPS, also known as Toulouse III) was a French university, in the Academy of Toulouse. It was one of the several successor universities of the University of Toulouse, established in 1229, ...

. He conducted research at the Skobeltsyn Institute of

Nuclear Physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

and the

Moscow Aviation Institute Moscow Aviation Institute () is an engineering research university in Moscow, Russia. It is designated a National Research University. Since its inception the institute has been spearheading advances in aerospace technology both within Russia a ...

in Russia. From 2017 to 2020, he underwent pilot training in the

French Air and Space Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the French Air F ...

and obtained his fighter pilot certificate.

Career

Since 2020, Prost has been assigned to the DGA Flight Tests Expertise Center in

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location I ...

. He initially worked on developing new features for

flight simulators A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

, using artificial intelligence in air combat, and preparing for future test campaigns of the

Future Combat Air System The Future Combat Air System (FCAS), (; ; ) is a European combat system of systems under development by Dassault Aviation, Airbus and Indra Sistemas. The FCAS will consist of a Next-Generation Weapon System (NGWS) as well as other air assets ...

(FCAS). Since the summer of 2022, he has been a member of the integrated flight test team for the Rafale combat aircraft program under the command of AI Magalie Gibergues, consisting of military and civilian pilot and navigator engineers. He has worked on Rafale's human-machine interfaces. He also holds a commercial pilot license (CPL) and is qualified as a pilot in the technical corps of the DGA.

Astronautics

In November 2022, Prost was selected for the

of the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

(ESA) as a reserve astronaut. As such, he remains in his current position but must spend four to five weeks per year at the Astronaut Centre for training, scientific experiments, or communication operations.

References

External links

* . ''esa.int'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Prost, Arnaud 1992 births Living people French engineers French spationauts French Air and Space Force personnel École Polytechnique alumni Supaéro alumni Moscow State University alumni