Even though his first name sounds Portuguese, Manuel Wilhelm is originally from the south of Germany. The mechanical engineer obtained his training mainly at the Technical University of Darmstadt, but also gathered experience at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, USA. Apart from academia, Manuel got his feet wet working as an intern for Lufthansa Technik at Frankfurt airport. In 2020, he obtained his doctorate at the Technical University of Darmstadt, where he conducted research to lower emissions of aircraft engines. As he came to realize over the years, airplane flight altitude is rather limited, so delving into space was naturally the next step for him. At Portugal Space, he is responsible for the field of Space Transport and Exploration. Things that help him to remain down-to-earth nevertheless are running, cycling, and singing in the choir.