Marco Sieber was born in Biel in 1989 and raised in Kirchberg, both located in the Swiss Canton of Bern.[1][2] Two interests that captivated him as a child were dinosaurs and space.[3] Sieber graduated from the Burgdorf Gymnasium in 2007.[4]
In 2009, he worked as a parachute instructor for pre-military courses and assisting with anatomy and physiology courses at the University of Bern. He earned his medical doctorate from the University of Bern in 2015, receiving top marks for his thesis on robot-assisted surgery, and later obtained the FMH-recognized certificate in emergency and rescue medicine from SGNOR in 2021.[5][6]
Career
Military career
In 2009, he began paratrooper training with the Swiss Army's Special Forces Command, achieving the rank of Wachtmeister (sergeant).[4]
Manual labour
Between the ages of 20 and 23, Sieber was employed by Mobitoil, where he drove to various locations and cleaned mobile toilets used at construction sites and festivals. He also worked assembling parts in a factory and assisted on construction sites.[7]
Medical career
Between 2015 and 2017, Sieber served as an assistant doctor in general surgery and intensive care in Interlaken before becoming the chief medical officer for KFOR, the NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo. From 2019 to 2021, he worked as an anesthesiology assistant in Interlaken and as an emergency doctor in helicopter rescue, eventually joining the urology team at the Biel Hospital Center in 2021.[3] Despite his current job as an astronaut at the ESA, he hopes to continue working occasionally in a hospital emergency ward to maintain and refine his medical skills.[7]
Sieber completed ESA's Basic Training curriculum at the European Astronaut Centre, and graduated alongside his classmates from "The Hoppers"[9] group on 22 April 2024.[10][11] Sieber has said that his first flight to the ISS will occur sometime between 2027 and 2030. Before embarking on a mission, he will complete additional mission-specific training blocks. Aside from that, there will likely be a quieter period without continuous training. During this time, he will take on other responsibilities at ESA.[7]
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Wachtmeister (sergeant)