The primary half of the ESA Astronaut Reserve has formally began its first coaching programme immediately on the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. This marks an thrilling milestone as 5 members of the ESA Astronaut Reserve—Sara García Alonso from Spain, Andrea Patassa from Italy, Arnaud Prost from France, Amelie Schoenenwald from Germany, and Aleš Svoboda from Czechia—start a two-month intensive coaching expertise.
The programme goals to equip the members of ESA’s astronaut reserve with the important abilities obligatory for future house exploration and scientific analysis. Over the approaching weeks, they may cowl key modules from ESA’s primary coaching programme, which usually prepares profession astronauts for varied missions. The coaching contains a mixture of technical and operational abilities, spacecraft methods, and survival workouts in each water and winter situations.
Along with these abilities, the members of the reserve will obtain preliminary spacewalk coaching. This a part of their preparation entails scuba diving in ESA’s Impartial Buoyancy Facility, the place they may expertise situations that simulate an actual spacewalk. This enables astronauts to practise transferring and working outdoors a spacecraft, whether or not for vital repairs or tools set up on the Worldwide House Station.
Later in January 2025, the second group of members of the Astronaut Reserve, together with Meganne Christian from the UK, Anthea Comellini from Italy, John McFall from the UK, and Carmen Possnig from Austria, will start their coaching programme. This ongoing dedication to creating a various and expert astronaut reserve reinforces ESA’s dedication to supporting Europe’s ambitions in human spaceflight and exploration.
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