ESA to recruit new European astronauts

With ESA astronauts working in the Columbus laboratory onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and the first of ESA’s new ATV cargo ships having delivered fresh supplies to the station, ESA’s human spaceflight activities have entered a new era. It is now time for ESA to seek out new talent to bolster its Astronaut Corps for future manned missions to the ISS, the Moon and beyond.

The European Space Agency entered the annals of human spaceflight for the first time in 1978 with its first astronaut selection, followed in 1983 by the first Spacelab mission. Preparations for ESA’s Columbus laboratory project, meanwhile, involved a second selection of astronauts in 1992.

The overall selection process will start on Monday 19 May and follow a by now well-established procedure:

• Screening: the first step in the formal application will be online at www.esa.int/astronautselection. Applicants will have to provide the same medical examination certificate as private pilots, the examination for which must be conducted by an Aviation Medical Examiner certified by his/her national aviation medical authority. Two stages of psychological and professional aptitude evaluation, including behavioural and cognitive skills tests.

• Medical evaluation: this process includes clinical examination by aero- medical physicians and clinical specialists, laboratory screening tests, and special procedures.

• Formal interview: as potential ESA staff members, the astronaut candidates will go before an ESA selection board for further professional assessment.

The final appointments will be officially announced in 2009.

The selected candidates will then join the European Astronaut Corps and begin basic training at the European Astronaut Centre (ESA-EAC) in Cologne, Germany.

“We want to find high-calibre men and women in Europe to prepare to meet the challenges of ISS exploitation and human exploration of our solar system in the 21st century. As of May 2008, ESA will be searching in each of its 17 Member States for the best candidates to make this vision a reality,” says Michel Tognini, former astronaut and Head of the European Astronaut Centre.

ISS and beyond