The European Space Agency has launched a recruitment campaign for new astronauts in 2021. The time has come to announce the identity of the new recruits.
Who will be the next European astronauts? The European Space Agency (ESA) is about to reveal their faces and names. In 2021, the agency launched a call for applications to become an astronaut. It had been a resounding success: 7,000 French people had applied to ESA to be astronauts (out of a total of more than 20,000 applicants). The day of the final verdict has arrived.
You will be able to discover the identities of the new European astronauts online. The ESA makes it possible to follow the announcements live.
- When ? Wednesday, November 23, 2022, from 2:30 p.m. (for a duration of 40 minutes).
- Where ? On ESA web TV. The announcement takes place from Paris, at the Grand Palais Éphémère. It comes after the closure of the ESA Council at ministerial level.
- What ? ESA announces its new class of astronauts.
The last recruitment of European astronauts was in 2008
What should ESA’s Class of 2022 astronauts look like? For now, we only know that she ” will be composed of career astronauts, members of the astronaut reserve, and astronauts with physical disabilities for a feasibility study “, indicates the ESA.
There had not been a recruitment campaign for European astronauts since 2008. 7 astronauts had been selected to be part of the 2009 Class of ESA astronauts. 6 of them are also present on the ESA Council, including Thomas Pesquet. He looked forward to meeting his future counterparts. ” New fellow astronauts, robotic missions to the Moon, return of Martian samples… and manned lunar missions: the future is amazing and I can’t wait to be part of it! », tweeted the French pilot on November 21.
Once presented to the general public, the new ESA astronauts will travel to Cologne, Germany, to take up their duties at the European Astronaut Centre. 12 months of training await them on site. Only then can they begin specific training on the International Space Station. When they are assigned to their mission, their training will not be finished: on the contrary, it will be adapted to the tasks to be carried out during the upcoming mission.
While waiting to know the names of the lucky ones and the happy ones, predictions are launched on social networks. Internet users are already imagining the nationality and gender of the new recruits. How many astronauts will be featured? Will the selection be equal? Will France have a new astronaut to join Thomas Pesquet? Who will be the first astronaut or the first astronaut with a disability? Answers from 2:30 p.m.
