Arnaud Prost was born in France in 1992.
Arnaud earned his engineering degree from the École Polytechnique in Palaiseau, France, in 2015. During this time, he accomplished a research internship at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, USA, where he studied possible landing sites for the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover.
In 2017, Arnaud completed his aerospace engineering degree at the French grande école ISAE-SUPAERO and his master’s degree in astrophysics, space sciences and planetology from the Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France. During this time, he also completed a research internship with the Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics and Moscow Aviation Institute in Moscow, Russia.
In 2013, Arnaud completed his military training and became second lieutenant with the French Armed Forces and 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment. There he obtained his military parachutist license and started skydiving, which led him to log more than 200 jumps.
Arnaud worked as a professional diver and project engineer for the Comex S.A. space and innovation division in Marseille, France, from 2015 to 2016, where he worked as a test diver and an engineer on EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) simulations underwater and astronaut-robot cooperation in analogue environments.
From 2017 to 2020, Arnaud joined the French Air Force as a fighter pilot trainee where he earned his fighter pilot wings.
He continued his professional career as a test engineer at the Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) flight test center, in Istres, France, from 2020 to 2022, where he worked on human-machine interfaces of the Rafale fighter jet. From 2020, he was a pilot with the DGA’s engineering corps for passenger transport and support to test flights. He holds a Commercial Pilot License (CPL).
In 2022, Arnaud continued as a flight test engineer with the DGA, where he was leading the RAFALE integrated flight test team and flight tests for air to air capacities.
In 2023, Arnaud returned to the French Air Force to serve as an operational pilot on the E-3F mission aircraft, the French AWACS. This new position allows him to experience wide-body aeronautics, multiple-crew coordination and a new operational environment at the 36th Airborne Command and Control Squadron in Avord, France.
Equally passionate about the underwater world, Arnaud is qualified to carry out technical deep dives using gas mixes (TRIMIX), both using electronic rebreathers or open-circuit gas tanks. He is also a diving instructor. In his leisure time, he enjoys scuba diving, freediving, rugby and swimming. His other interests include hiking and DIY.
In November 2022, Arnaud was selected as a member of the ESA astronaut reserve.
In September 2024, Arnaud took part in ESA's PANGAEA training programme. Alongside ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan and JAXA astronaut Norishige Kanai, he trained in geology and sample selection to prepare for the exploration of the Moon and Mars.
In October 2024, he began the first, of three, two-month Astronaut Reserve Training (ART) programmes at ESA's European Astronaut Center (EAC) in Cologne, Germany, preparing members of the European astronaut reserve to support future human spaceflight opportunities.
From early September to late October 2025, he returned to EAC for a second block of intensive training, concluding with the ART patch ceremony.
Between March and May 2026, the group came together once more at EAC for the final phase of the ART programme.
Liostáil lenár nuachtlitir chun an nuacht is déanaí, nuashonruithe misin, agus léargas eisiach a fháil go díreach i do bhosca isteach. Bí ar an gcéad duine a bheidh ar an eolas faoinár dtionscadail agus ár ndul chun cinn atá le teacht.
