Hi, my name is Florian Kehl, and I'm a Senior Scientist at the University of Zurich’s Space Hub and a Lecturer at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences. I used to work at and with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for almost 7 years. I invent, design, and develop fully-automated instruments for in-situ liquid analysis for space biology, and the detection of biosignatures on future planetary missions to Mars, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, or other celestial bodies. I've been fascinated by space and its robotic exploration since my early childhood when I gave presentations about Mars rovers in elementary school.

As a prototype developer, I have had the chance to partake in several simulated Mars missions in the Atacama Desert in Chile, where we tested our remotely-controlled instruments on a rover. On another field trip to the Arctic, we evaluated our underwater robots, equipped with sampling and sensing platforms, in the icy ocean. Every morning, we drove several kilometers over the open sea ice with our snowmobiles, where we then released our robotic explorers, while armed locals protected us from roaming polar bears.