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BERLIN: Europe will recruit new astronauts for the first time in 11 years as major space-traveling nations set their sights on missions to the Moon and eventually Mars.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is looking to add up to 26 permanent and reserve astronauts. She strongly encourages women to apply and is looking at how she could add people with disabilities to her roster to drive diversity among crews.
But landing one of the coveted positions will not be easy, he warned at a news conference Tuesday.
First, ESA expects a “very high number” of applications to come in during the eight-week recruitment drive starting on March 31, said Lucy van der Tas, ESA’s director of talent acquisition.
Second, those whose applications are accepted will undergo a rigorous six-stage selection process that will run through October 2022.
“Candidates must be mentally prepared for this process,” van der Tas said.
Adapting the technology that allowed humans to be in space could open the opportunity for people with disabilities, said Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.
“When it comes to space travel, we are all disabled,” added Cristoforetti.
Human spaceflight seems poised for a rebirth.
After years in which the only launch site for manned space flights was Baikonur in the steppes of Kazakhstan, cooperation with private companies such as SpaceX has generated prospects for more human missions.
Requirements for an astronaut job at ESA include a master’s degree in natural science, engineering, mathematics, or computer science and three years of postgraduate experience.
“I think it is a great opportunity … It will be an opportunity to learn a lot about yourselves,” said Cristoforetti. Reuters
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