Yulia Akisheva is an aerospace engineer by training currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Protective Use of Regolith for Planetary and Lunar Exploration or PURPLE in short. This Ph.D. is supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), TRAD Tests & Radiations, and ISAE-SUPAERO under the ESA OSIP collaboration platform. Yulia has a continually growing passion for human spaceflight. Since over a decade ago, she knew she wanted to work on putting that first human boot on Mars so she invested in her academic background. Yulia has three Master’s degrees from top European universities, KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden and ISAE-SUPAERO in France. She specialized in Aerospace Structures and Materials, Design and Operation of Space Systems, and Sciences of the Mechanics of Materials and Structures. Besides Mars exploration, Yulia is strongly interested in fostering international cooperation and outreach about space. She contributes to building a more diverse and inclusive aerospace sector as a volunteer at Space Generation Advisory Council, and you can find Yulia’s TEDx called “To Mars together: 5 reasons to explore the Red Planet” on youtube.