Several hundred would-be para-astronauts have already applied for the post, according to ESA president Josef Aschbacher, who told Reuters on Friday that the European Space Agency intends to hire and fly the world’s first physically impaired astronaut.
According to Aschbacher, the 22-member space programme just finished its decennial astronaut recruitment drive, which attracted 22,000 applications.
“For the first time ever, we’d like to launch an astronaut with a disability,” the Austrian continued. “However, I’m pleased for ESA because it demonstrates that space is open to anyone, which is something I’d like to communicate.”
The European Space Agency, whose Ariane rocket previously controlled the commercial satellite launch industry, is facing increasing competition from tech-backed start-ups such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
“Space is evolving at a breakneck pace, and if we don’t catch up, we’ll be left behind,” he added, laying out plans to rebrand the agency as a more entrepreneurial player willing to partner with venture capitalists to help grow European start-ups that could one day compete with Silicon Valley players.
The hurdles are enormous: the ESA’s 7 billion euro budget is a third of NASA’s, and its seven or eight launches per year pale in comparison to NASA’s 40.
This year’s employment ad drew over three times the 8,000 applications received a decade earlier, with a quarter of the applicants being women, up from 15% previously. The ESA has vowed to develop technologies that will allow those with disabilities, such as shortened legs, to participate fully.
