The European Space Agency (ESA) has actually revealed a brand-new astronaut class with 2 ladies in the lineup and an amputee paralympic sprinter who is an injury cosmetic surgeon.
ESA revealed 6 brand-new astronaut students originating from a wide variety of the area firm’s member states consisting of 2 prospects from the U.K. and one each from France, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland.
Briton John McFall was successful in the parastronaut choice, a pilot job revealed by ESA as part of its most current astronaut recruitment contact early2020 McFall, who lost his leg at the age of 19 following a bike mishap, will assist ESA examine to what level specialists with specials needs can take part in human spaceflight.
Related: Record-high astronaut applications overwhelm European Space Agency
According to his profile on the ESA site(opens in brand-new tab), McFall has actually lived more than a complete life regardless of losing a leg. Having actually completed in the Paralympics as a sprinter, he won the bronze medal in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, and is a competent injury and orthopedic cosmetic surgeon serving with the U.K. National Health Service.
ESA presently has just one female astronaut, Italian previous jet pilot Samantha Cristoforetti, however the brand-new choice will enhance the gender balance of ESA’s astronaut corps with 2 brand-new female additions. France’s Sophie Adenot(opens in brand-new tab) is an aerospace engineer and helicopter test pilot with over 3,000 flight hours on 22 various kinds of helicopters under her belt. She has actually likewise worked as a rescue pilot in catastrophe operations. Sophie will end up being the 2nd French astronaut, signing up with Thomas Pesquet
The U.K.’s Rosemary Coogan(opens in brand-new tab) is the 2nd female addition to ESA’s astronaut corps and the 2nd Briton beside Tim Peake who was picked in 2008 together with Pesquet and Cristoforetti. Coogan is a physicist and astrophysicist with remarkable global experience who worked as a postdoctoral scientist in Germany. More just recently, Coogan has actually belonged of the group at the French area company CNES, dealing with ESA’s upcoming dark energy objective Euclid and likewise examining observations from the James Webb Space Telescope
Three guys will likewise sign up with the ESA astronaut corps: Pablo Álvarez Fernández(opens in brand-new tab) from Spain, Raphaël Liégeois(opens in brand-new tab) from Belgium and Marco Alain Sieber(opens in brand-new tab) of Switzerland. Aerospace engineer Álvarez Fernández has actually formerly dealt with ESA’s ExoMars rover Rosalind Franklin at Airbus in the U.K. Liégeois, on the other hand, is a neuroscientist with experience from Switzerland, the U.S. and Singapore and is likewise a hot air balloon and glider pilot. Sieber’s background remains in the armed force. He served with the Swiss Special Forces Commando and the Swiss Army, however likewise has a degree in medication, concentrating on robotic surgical treatment and emergency situation and rescue medication.
ESA likewise revealed 11 reserve astronauts who will not be signing up with the group right now, however may be hired later on in case among the chosen prospects leaves.
The effective prospects and reservists were chosen from a r ecord-breaking swimming pool of over 22,000 applications.
Follow Tereza Pultarova on Twitter @TerezaPultarova(opens in brand-new tab) Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom(opens in brand-new tab) and on Facebook(opens in brand-new tab)