Dr. Stephen Alamo of Toulouse is the sole French physician qualified to monitor astronauts for the European Space Agency. Balancing shifts in the emergency room at the Toulouse University Hospital, this explorer also coordinates training in emergency procedures for space. He hopes to one day serve as a physician on a lunar mission.
His suitcase is “always ready!” His schedule? “A nightmare! I spend my time looking at it to plan everything. I love this fast-paced life!” Finding time to meet Dr. Stephen Alamo requires navigating his commitments in Toulouse, Cologne, and Houston. An emergency physician at the Toulouse University Hospital, he is also the only French “Flight surgeon” – a physician specializing in aerospace medicine – at the European Space Agency (ESA).
Dr. Alamo found his niche through extensive training to understand the space environment, driven by a deep curiosity. “I have a vital need to understand what is happening around me. Space exploration fulfills that,” explains the physician, who as a child disassembled household remote controls and devoured books on ancient Egypt, and dinosaurs.
“I wanted to be a fighter pilot but I am colorblind”
Medicine wasn’t his initial career path. “I’ve always been passionate about aeronautics and physics. After high school, I wanted to be a pilot. During testing, I discovered I was colorblind and therefore could not be a fighter pilot or airline pilot. I hesitated between studying physics and medicine. I thought medicine would be the best choice to maximize my science education. I went into it with no prior knowledge of the field,” recounts the son of a hairdresser and a self-taught computer scientist. After being accepted to the Paris Descartes Faculty of Medicine (now Paris Cité), Stephen Alamo discovered the world of the hospital during his first year. “To finance my studies, I worked as a nursing assistant at Cochin Hospital. I immediately liked the atmosphere, teamwork, and rigor.”
Preparation, quarantine, and return to Earth: two years with Andreas Mogensen
He continued to follow space news and obtained a private pilot’s license at an aero club. When he moved to Toulouse as an emergency physician, he completed his training with a diploma in aerospace medicine. “I initially envisioned myself as a physician for fighter pilots. Then I discovered the existence of MEDES (Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology, whose space clinic is located on the Rangueil Hospital site) and the possibility of working on research protocols studying the effects of weightlessness,” explains Stephen Alamo, who joined MEDES in September 2019 as a clinical research physician in space physiology. This operate is particularly relevant as space travel expands and the need to understand its physiological effects grows.
“From that point on, I split my time between the emergency room at the CHU and MEDES. With the support of Pr. Sandrine Charpentier, my department head, and the flexibility and kindness of my colleagues who fill in for me on the schedule at the last minute, I manage to do both. It’s essential because I want to maintain activity in the field.”
Opportunities followed. In 2021, he was selected as one of two flight surgeons by the ESA and participated in the recruitment of the new class of astronauts, including Sophie Adenot. Dr. Alamo’s profile was a perfect fit; the European Space Agency seeks physicians who remain active in clinical practice. He joined a group of eight physicians of different nationalities responsible for monitoring the astronauts. After a year of training, he spent nearly two years with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen for his second mission to the International Space Station (ISS). From medical preparation to return to Earth, including the fifteen days of quarantine before launch, Stephen Alamo ensured everything went smoothly.
“The ultimate dream would be to go on a space medical mission”
Building on this experience, he now leads continuous medical training within the ESA. He also coordinates medical training for in-situ emergencies that takes place in Toulouse, including simulations in the operating room. Last December, four astronauts were trained in emergency care they might need to provide during a space mission. “They absorbed pages and pages of theory. The goal is to confront them with the reality of an emergency and the patient relationship. We show them how to relocate a bone in the event of a fracture, what the role of teamwork is, how to perform an eye or ear examination, how to extract a tooth, etc. Astronauts are excellent students; they have a phenomenal ability to learn and adapt,” adds Stephen Alamo.
“I am happy to contribute my stone – a small pebble – to space exploration. I am also very proud to participate, in a supporting role, in the current mission of Sophie Adenot, an incredible astronaut,” says the emergency physician, who supervises the two physicians in charge of monitoring the French astronaut. What’s next? Training to support astronauts on future Artemis lunar missions. “I’m living a waking dream, but the ultimate dream would be to go on a space medical mission; I still need to explore!”
In a few dates
1987: Born in Paris. Grew up in Saint-Maxime (Var)
2005: Medical school in Paris
2016: Physician in the emergency department of the Toulouse University Hospital
2019: Clinical research physician in space physiology at MEDES in Toulouse
2021: “Flight surgeon”: aerospace medicine physician in charge of astronaut monitoring at the European Space Agency (ESA)
2022-2024: Preparation and monitoring of the second mission of Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen
2025: Coordinates the medical training module for astronauts at the Toulouse University Hospital
