Carlos Espejel

Dr. Carlos Espejel is a pioneering leader in the field of space resources utilization, with over a decade of experience in the mining industry. As Space Resources Utilization (SRU) Lead at ispace, Dr. Espejel leads the company's ISRU Working Group, developing technology and strategic roadmaps, forming consortiums and partnerships, and overseeing commercial projects to advance the ISRU ecosystem. His work includes the creation of the Lunar Ore Reserve Standards (LORS), a set of reporting and estimation guidelines for space resources and reserves, which has become an industry standard. Before joining ispace, Dr. Espejel worked for 11 years in the mining industry as a Strategic Mine Planning Engineer (Value Chain Engineer), Reserves Engineer, for companies such as Glencore, and through CRCORE with Anglo American, BHP, among others. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Mining Engineering from the University of Queensland, a Master's degree in Mining Engineering from UNSW, a PhD in Mining Engineering from UQ, and a Postdoc in ISRU from Luxembourg. He is also a member and one of the leads of the science team at PROSPECT (ESA). With his extensive experience in both the mining and space industries, Dr. Espejel is a recognized expert in space resources utilization. His work and passion contributes to ispace's efforts to develop the technology, partnerships, and ecosystems necessary to make space exploration, ISRU, and the cislunar economy a reality.