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Science ESA campaigning for new astronauts to Moon
Science ESA campaigning for new astronauts to Moon | ESA campaigning for new astronauts to Moon |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Friday, 09 May 2008 | |
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Science DiscussionsThe selection process starts on May 19, 2008, for any resident of the seventeen member nations of the ESA. According to Michel Tognini, former astronaut and currently head of the European Astronaut Center, “We want to find high-calibre men and women in Europe to prepare to meet the challenges of ISS exploitation and human exploration of our solar system in the 21st century. As of May 2008, ESA will be searching in each of its 17 Member States for the best candidates to make this vision a reality.” [ESA: “ESA to recruit new European astronauts”] The member nations include: Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, Norway, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Greece, and Luxembourg. Currently, the ESA has eight astronauts, with an average age of fifty years. The space agency hopes to attract candidates that are between 27 and 37 years of age. Gerhard Thiele , former astronaut and current head of ESA’s Astronaut Corps, stated, "If we have a Moon programme and if Europe commits to participating in that, I anticipate that one of those who we are selecting now will walk on the Moon.” [ESA] The ESA astronaut recruitment campaign officially began at London, England’s Science Museum on Thursday, May 8, 2008. Alan Thirkettle, the ESA program manager for the space station, spoke at the event. Thirkettle stated, "We want the youth of Europe to be interested in science, mathematics and engineering, and go into these careers whether it's in space or not. The astronauts are a focal point – they're icons for that inspiration." [New Scientist (subscription required): “Europe recruits astronauts for possible Moon missions”] Besides the requirements of being a scientist, engineer, or pilot, a successful candidate will also possess personality traits that are desirable for the space jobs, such as a high degree of motivation, team competence, emotional stability, and sociability. In addition, Thiele states, “The ideal European astronaut candidate should be competent in relevant scientific disciplines, including but not restricted to life sciences, physics, chemistry and medicine and/or be an engineer or pilot, and should have demonstrated outstanding abilities in research, applications or the educational field, preferably including operational skills. In addition, characteristics expected of all applicants include a good memory and reasoning ability, concentration, aptitude for spatial orientation, and manual dexterity.” [ESA] Candidates can go online to the ESA website to apply for the astronaut positions. Among the necessary parts of the formal application, all candidates must take a medical examination, psychological and professional aptitude evaluation tests (including behavioral and cognitive-skills tests), and formal interview. June 15, 2008 is the final day to apply to be an ESA astronaut. Afterwards, officials with the ESA will screen all the candidates. All persons selected at this time will take physical and medical tests. Then, forty candidates will be selected to take part in formal interviews. The final group of astronauts will be selected in early 2009. They will begin training at the European Astronaut Center (EDA-EAC) in Cologne, Germany. Of course, we can't do anything without controversy. Read on about the controversary between the United Kingdom and some of the other ESA member nations. |
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