ESA is on the hunt for new astronauts.
As the fourth call for applicants since 1978,
it’s a rare opportunity for talented individuals to work at the cutting edge of spaceflight.
Four to six career astronauts will be recruited
along with a newly-created reserve pool for specific projects.
The last selection was in 2008,
when six candidates were chosen,
beginning their training with the European Astronaut Corps in 2009.
Another candidate,
Matthias Maurer,
was shortlisted
joining formally in 2015.
One of these new recruits was Thomas Pesquet
who will soon be making his second flight to orbit.
Too many people are not going to apply,
for example,
to a national selection because they think it’s really too hard,
and it’s for a different breed of people…
it’s not true,
and I hope I’m proof of this.
We’re all normal people
there’s an amount of luck that’s involved,
you have to be at the right place at the right time,
there’s a lot of criteria,
a lot of boxes that you have to tick,
but the first one and the most important one is
apply to the selection.
Applicants must be citizens of one of ESA’s 22 Member States
or its two associated members.
They also need to hold a master’s degree,
along with three years’ professional experience in a relevant field.
Traditionally in the past astronauts have often been test pilots,
and indeed qualified test pilots are eligible for this call for astronauts.
But equally, living and working onboard the Space Station
we’re looking for also a much broader set of possible skills,
in science, technology or medicine.
The type of people who are going to undertake the scientific experiments onboard Columbus,
be adaptable enough to prepare for missions to go into deep space,
maybe towards the Moon,
and also they’ve got to be ready themselves to be test subjects for the medical experiments.
ESA’s search for new talent will be wide-ranging,
with a commitment to including people of different gender, age and ethnic background.
And in a worldwide first for spaceflight,
there will be opportunities for one or more people with physical disabilities
to join ESA’s reserve pool of astronauts.
Diversity and inclusiveness are key values at ESA.
For the first time in human history,
ESA will be selecting one or more persons with certain classes of physical disabilities,
who will take part in the ESA Parastronaut Feasibility Project.
There will be a dedicated vacancy notice where all requirements will be listed.
This project aims at assessing the possibility to enable qualified professionals with physical disabilities
to serve as a crew member on a safe and useful space mission.
To enable the Parastronaut Feasibilty Project to move forwards,
ESA is ready to invest in adaptations to space hardware.
Starting with selected disabilities
with a view to broader inclusion
the programme will enable a wider range of candidates
to bring essential skills to space.
We don’t make a difference between the professional qualities that people need to have
in order to become professional astronauts,
either with or without disabilities.
At the end there is a lot to be performed,
the training is intense,
there is a lot of travels being involved,
there is a lot of separation with the families
all in all we need to have people who are both
flexible,
hard workers,
resilient,
and in good health.
That’s what we are looking for.
The recruitment process is highly competitive
but, for the right candidates,
it’s the chance of a lifetime.
Luca Parmitano was another applicant from 2008.
He has since flown on two missions to orbit,
and become the third European
and first Italian
International Space Station Commander.
One thing that, if I could go back,
I would tell myself from ten years ago
is to just be relaxed and be myself.
There is nothing that I could have done differently
the selection process,
what’s going on right now,
is not the time to try and change,
to try to improve,
to try to be a different person.
I think I would have been a lot more relaxed in trying to show who I am,
what I’m capable of doing,
and what my background and experience was.
So my recommendation would be this
just be yourself,
if you want to be an astronaut
you already have what it takes.
After ESA has received all applications,
screening and testing will begin.
By October 2022, the new astronauts will be announced
and go on to join the Class of 2008
in shaping the future of European space exploration.