The European Space Agency is looking for future astronauts among star seekers

The European Space Agency will prepare to launch its fourth astronaut recruitment campaign. Its goal is to bring about “change that takes different generations,” with the allocation of more space to include women and possibly those with special n

Nominations are rare, as only four to six candidates will be retained after a lengthy selection process.

It begins on March 31 to receive applicants for affiliation and ends in October 2022.

During the previous wave of appointments in 2008, fewer than ten out of more than 8,000 candidates crossed the pipeline.

Among them is Thomas Pescet, the youngest European astronaut.

“Are there volunteers to become our new colleagues?” Wrote the 43-year-old French astronaut in a tweet amid preparations for his second “Alpha” mission on board the International Space Station, scheduled for next spring? Submit your requests !!! ”.

Pesquet, from his training center in a location not disclosed by the European Space Agency, gives some advice to his next colleagues, in a video clip that will be broadcast Tuesday during a press conference held to mark the official launch of the recruitment campaign.

The wave of new appointments is the first in 11 years by the European Agency and its 22 member states, as it enters a “new era of space exploration”.

Astronauts with special needs

The mission of the new generation of astronauts, who will work side by side with the current generation, will not be limited to the International Space Station, but will also include trips to the moon, especially as part of the American “Artemis” program, which prescribes returning to the moon and establishing a permanent base on its surface.

The European Space Agency won three seats for the Europeans on board the “Gateway” space station in lunar orbit, as a contributor to the program.

In the context of this goal, the European Agency intends to “bring about real change that takes different generations” and “strongly encourages women to apply” in order to “promote diversity in their ranks”.

The number of female candidates in the previous campaign was limited to 16% of applicants applying for affiliation to the program.

But the director of human and robotic exploration at the European Space Agency, David Parker, said in a statement that the diversity should “possibly” be expanded to include physical disabilities.

He said, “In parallel with the employment of astronauts, a project was launched to study the possibility of employing astronauts among people with special needs, an innovation whose time has come.”

Six exams are conducted for candidates who are initially between the ages of 27 and 37 and are descendants of the 22 member countries of the European Space Agency, which was established in 1975.

Details of the exams will be presented on Tuesday, but it is known that the level of scientific, technical, physical and psychological qualifications required to work in space is very high.

For example, he speaks English, Russian, Spanish and German, as well as a bit of Chinese.

As for the selection criteria, they are numerous, and among them are also political criteria, especially in light of the variation in the contributions of all member states to the Agency’s budget.

The European astronaut team currently has seven members.

They are the Germans Alexander Gerst and Matthias Maurer, the Italians Luca Parmitano and Samanta Cristoforetti, the Frenchman Thomas Pescet, the Briton Timothy Beck and the Dane, Andreas Mugensen.

For the first time, the recruitment campaign for the new generation of astronauts will include the creation of a “reserve team” in addition to the main astronaut team.

Source Agencies