ESA’s new astronauts include former Paralympian runner John McFall

The European Space Agency has chosen an astronaut with a bodily incapacity for the primary time, as considered one of six new trainees for area missions

By Alex Wilkins

The European Space Agency (ESA) has introduced its latest astronauts, together with the primary ever astronaut with a bodily incapacity.

John McFall, who’s from the UK, had his proper leg amputated after a bike accident at age 19. He is a surgeon who has represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a Paralympic sprinter.

The different astronauts are engineer and pilot Sophie Adenot from France, aerospace engineer Pablo Álvarez Fernández from Spain, astronomer Rosemary Coogan from the UK, biomedical engineer Raphaël Liégeois from Belgium and physician Marco Sieber from Switzerland.

“This selection was about talent and about capabilities to be a fantastic astronaut, but I’m also very proud that it happens to be a very good distribution of genders,” ESA director-general Josef Aschbacher mentioned at a press convention on 23 November.

ESA additionally introduced the astronauts who will enter its new astronaut reserve, which is made up of people that made it by way of the complete choice course of, however weren’t chosen for full-time service.

After saying final 12 months that it could be choosing new astronauts for the primary time since 2008, ESA acquired greater than 22,500 purposes from 25 international locations, 17,126 of which have been from males and 5397 of which have been from ladies.

There have been 257 purposes particularly for the position of “parastronaut”, which ESA confined to folks with “lower limb deficiencies”. This was outlined as both a single or double foot deficiency by way of the ankle or under the knee, a pronounced leg size distinction or a top under 130 centimetres.

The profitable astronauts needed to make it by way of six levels. After the preliminary screening, the primary group of candidates went for a full day of psychological efficiency testing to see if they might address the stresses of area flight. This group was then whittled down to simply over 400 folks, who then went for extra psychological interviews and group exams. Those who handed took medical exams and, in the event that they handed, have been invited to a ultimate spherical of recruitment interviews.

The profitable candidates will endure a year-long primary coaching course at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.

When they’ve completed their coaching, they are going to be assigned to missions, together with stays on the International Space Station.

ESA has already chosen astronauts for the Artemis mission to the moon, by which it’s partnering with NASA, but when that is profitable, the brand new astronauts might be part of future moon missions.

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