ESA campaigning for new astronauts to Moon

William Atkins
Friday, 09 May 2008 03:37

Science - Space

Thirkettle insists that all member nations will have an equal chance of getting one of their citizens into the astronaut group.

Currently, all member nations of the ESA—whether they have contributed money or not—are eligible to apply to become ESA astronauts.

Thirkettle states, "It's part of our rules and regulations – I think it's even part of the law – that we have to open this to all the member states of the agency. Common sense requires us to choose the best people for the job. Bearing the right passport is not one of the qualifications."

But, this might change.

The selection of astronauts from the ESA member names is already full of controversy. So far, the United Kingdom has refused to contribute money for manned spaceflight programs.

However, they are considering, for the first time, the possibility of contributing money for ESA manned space missions since several recent government reports have indicated that manned space flight activities in the UK could help improve the country’s economical and technological/scientific progress.

Other ESA member nations are not really happy with the idea of an UK astronaut-candidate possibly being selected over one of their own candidates. They don't like the idea that they have been contributing money for many years, while the UK has not.

For additional information on this emerging controversy, please read the Space.com article “ESA May Face British Astronaut Quandary.”

In fact, according to the Space.com article, NASA may include a British astronaut on one its Orion flights to the Moon, as part of its new Constellation program, based on an earlier agreement between NASA and the UK.

Consequently, Thirkettle realizes that due to political pressures from the many ESA member nations, the selection process may ultimately decide between two equally qualified candidates on the basis of which member nation has contributed the most money.