Ashley KOWALSKI

The Aerospace Corporation • Project Leader, International Programs

Ashley A. Kowalski is a project leader in The Aerospace Corporation’s International Programs Division, where she works with, represents, and provides technical support to the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command International Affairs (SSC/IA) office, as well as various civil sector organizations. Kowalski has also pursued and participated in various human spaceflight research. Outside of Aerospace, Kowalski has served as the flight engineer for SIRIUS-21 (Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station), an eight-month, long-duration spaceflight analog mission held in Moscow, Russia. This was a collaborative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center’s (JSC’s) Human Research Program and Russia’s Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) that studied the effects of isolation and confinement on human psychology, physiology, crew dynamics, crew autonomy, and the general behavioral health of the crewmembers. In addition to this astronaut analog mission, Kowalski served as the crew engineer for the first-ever, all-Aerospace analog crew sent to the Mars Desert Research Station (Crew #269), where the crew tested new technologies and methodologies that could help shape the future of human space exploration. Most recently, she conducted research on a ZeroG flight to gather data and correlate the effect of microgravity on skin and core body temperature, considering how temperature changes contribute to circadian misalignment and impact astronaut health and performance.

Events

International Astronautical Congress 2025

29 September - 3 October 2025

Sydney, Australia

Participation: