Author: Marcos Pontes
Alternate names: Marcos César Pontes
Born: 11 March 1963
Bio: Marcos Cesar Pontes (born March 11, 1963) is a Brazilian Air Force pilot and AEB astronaut. He became the first Brazilian and the first Lusophone to go into space when he launched into the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-8 on March 30, 2006. He is the only Brazilian to have completed the NASA astronaut training program, although he switched to training in Russia after NASA's Space Shuttle program encountered problems. He is married and has two children.