Maybritt Kuypers

Flight Surgeon, European Space Agency

Maybritt Kuypers, MD, PhD, FAWM is an experienced Flight Surgeon for the European Space Agency / MEDES. Her background is in Aerospace, Emergency and Wilderness Medicine. She holds a PhD in Medicine, is a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine and a member of the Space Medicine Association. Her aerospace physician career began as a civilian MD working for the Royal Netherlands Air Force in 2004.  Since 2009 she holds a specialist registration in Emergency Medicine and combined her work in the Emergency Department with expedition medical work in various remote locations. In 2010 she co-founded the non-profit organization Outdoor Medicine, which focusses on education on remote medicine for medical professionals.  

In 2014 she became the chief medical officer for a pioneering commercial suborbital spaceflight company (XCOR). She performed medical screening, medical training, centrifuge training and fast-jet training in support of the spaceflight candidates.

As of 2016 she is a flight surgeon for the European Space Agency where she has supported multiple ISS expeditions, launch and landing operations in both the USA (SpaceX) and Kazakhstan (Soyuz). Currently she is assigned to support future ESA missions within the Artemis/Gateway/Moon2Mars program.

She is a senior lecturer at the Leiden University Medical Center and instructor in Advanced Wilderness Life Support.

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