Meet John McFall – Paralympian, medical physician and member of ESA’s Astronaut Reserve. As a part of ESA’s groundbreaking FLY initiative, John helps show that bodily incapacity is not any barrier to area. On this episode, he shares the outcomes of a feasibility research displaying no technical showstoppers for flying to the Worldwide House Station with a prosthesis and talks about what’s subsequent—from {hardware} certification and scientific proposals to astronaut reserve coaching and operating in microgravity.
On this miniseries, we take you on a journey by means of the ESA Astronaut Reserve, diving into the primary a part of their Astronaut Reserve Coaching (ART) on the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) close to Cologne, Germany. Our “ARTists” are immersing themselves in all the things from ESA and the Worldwide House Station programme to the European area trade and establishments. They’re gaining hands-on expertise in technical abilities like spacecraft methods and robotics, alongside human behaviour, scientific classes, scuba diving and survival coaching.
ESA’s Astronaut Reserve Coaching programme is all about constructing Europe’s subsequent era of area explorers—making ready them for the alternatives of future missions in Earth orbit and past.
This interview was recorded in February 2025.
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