Mr. Kminek is currently Mars Sample Return (MSR) Lead Scientist and acting Lead of the Mars & Beyond Science Office for the European Space Agency (ESA) and chair of the COSPAR (Committee on Space Research) Scientific Sub-Commission B4 (Terrestrial Planets). Before, he was the ESA Planetary Protection Officer (PPO) for about 15 years. Mr. Kminek established the field of planetary protection at ESA. He also supervised the implementation of planetary protection requirements on various ESA flight projects (e.g., ExoMars Schiaparelli, Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Mission, JUICE, BepiColombo, Solar Orbiter) and at the end of his duty as PPO chaired the joint ESA-NASA Mars Sample Return (MSR) Sample Safety Assessment Framework (SSAF) working group. Mr. Kminek served as chair of the COSPAR Panel on Planetary Protection and was awarded the COSPAR Distinguished Service Medal. Before becoming a Planetary Protection Officer at ESA, Mr. Kminek worked in the ESA Advanced Concepts Team and the Aurora Exploration Program.