Britain’s newest astronauts have begun training for future space missions.
Rosemary Coogan Northern Ireland astrophysicist, selected to join The European Space Agency (ESA) training program last year.
Together with four colleagues, the 32-year-old astronaut was selected from more than 22,500 applicants at the agency’s cosmonaut center in Cologne, GermanyStart a year of basic preparation.
Rosemary Coogan
Joining her is Sophie Adenot or France, SpainPablo Alvarez Fernandez, Belgian–Luxembourgish Engineers Raphael Liegeois and Marco Sieber from Switzerland.
Frank De Winne, head of the European Astronaut Centre, said they had demonstrated “the skill and dedication to be successful as ESA astronauts”.
He added: “We look forward to supporting them every step of the way as they embark on their exciting journey to prepare for future space missions.”
What does the training involve?
Europe’s newest batch of astronauts to be trained International Space Station standard so they can perform tasks back and forth.
Their first-year training includes scuba diving in preparation for spacewalks, strenuous fitness assessments and collegiate-style science seminars.
Once basic training is complete in the spring of 2024, candidates will be certified astronauts and ready to begin pre-mission training.
Once they are selected for a specific task, another phase of training takes place.
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“A real privilege”
Ms Coogan is Britain’s third-ever astronaut and one of the first new ESA candidates since 2009.
before her Helen Sharmanwho became the first Briton in space in 1989, and Tim Peakehe performed the historic spacewalk 27 years later.
Ms Coogan said last year: “It was a real honor to get the call – I was very excited.
“I feel very lucky to have this position with so many people applying, and I really want to make the most of this opportunity to learn as much as possible and do my best.”
Ms Coogan holds two Masters degrees from Durham University and a PhD in Astronomy from the University of Sussex.
Also named in ESA’s latest cohort It’s former British Paralympian John McFaulas part of a program to test the viability of working in space for people with disabilities.