frustration pronouncements from other congressmen, such as Walter Pinheiro (PT), at the time member of the House Science and Technology Commission; Alberto Goldman (PSDB), congressman for São Paulo in 2006; Orlando Fantazzini (PSOL) and Sérgio Gaudenzi. In the view of politicians, who expected the return of astronaut learning to the Brazilian Space Program, the entity should create protection mechanisms for possible future investments in other astronauts, taking into account that the services funded by the government are not lost in the private sphere. Investigation by the Military Prosecutor In 2006, Pontes was investigated by the Military Prosecutor to determine whether he had violated Article 204 of the Military Penal Code, which prohibits active military involvement in any commercial activity. In the investigation, the MPM inquired about the website Conexão Espacial, owned by the astronaut's press officer, Christiane Gonçalves Corrêa, then owner of the company Portally Eventos e Produções, about the sale of T-shirts and caps with the image of Marcos from 2002 until the date of his departure. In September 2017, documents were released by The Intercept newspaper, which showed Marcos' supposed status as a partner in the company, but which had always been denied by him. After the extinctive prescription of the investigation, Pontes became a majority partner of the company, with 80% of participation, while Christiane Corrêa kept 20% of participation. The mother of the advisor, who owned about 45% of the shares, left the firm after Pontes joined. In August 2018, after the investigation had already prescribed, the appeal against Pontes was tabled and filed away by Supreme Court Minister Rosa Weber. Gallery Awards Marcos received numerous awards through his career. Brazilian military Brazilian (non-military) International Electoral performance See also Timeline of space travel by nationality List of Ibero-American spacefarers Brazilian Space Agency National Institute for Space Research (INPE) Aeronautics Technological Institute (ITA) University of São Paulo (USP) Brazilian General Command for Aerospace Technology (CTA) References External links Marcos Pontes on Facebook Marcos Pontes on Instagram Marcos Pontes on Twitter Air Force Technological Institute (ITA) Brazilian Space Agency Marcos Pontes' official website Marcos Pontes at TEDxHouston 2013 Brazilian astronauts Brazilian engineers 1963 births Living people People from Bauru Recipients of the National Order of Merit (Brazil) Astronaut-politicians Writers from São Paulo Liberal Party (Brazil, 2006) politicians Social Liberal Party (Brazil) politicians Brazilian Socialist Party politicians Democrats (Brazil) politicians Ministers of Science and Technology of Brazil Spaceflight participants