European Astronaut Corps Explained

The European Astronaut Corps is a unit of the European Space Agency (ESA) that selects, trains, and provides astronauts as crew members on U.S. and Russian space missions. The corps has 13 active members, able to serve on the International Space Station (ISS). The European Astronaut Corps is based at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. They can be assigned to various projects both in Europe (at ESTEC, for instance) or elsewhere in the world, at NASA Johnson Space Center or Star City.

Current members

As of 2024 there are eleven active members of the European Astronaut Corps. Five were selected in 2009, one was selected in 2015, and the remaining five selected in 2022.

NameCountrySelectionTime in spaceMissions
Italy2009 ESA Group370d 5h 45mSoyuz TMA-15M (Expedition 42/43), Crew-4 (Expedition 67/68)
Germany2009 ESA Group362d 1h 50mSoyuz TMA-13M (Expedition 40/41), Soyuz MS-09 (Expedition 56/57)
Andreas Mogensen Denmark2009 ESA Group208d 22h 34m Soyuz TMA-18M/16M, Crew-7 (Expedition 69/70)
Italy2009 ESA Group366d 23h 1mSoyuz TMA-09M (Expedition 36/37), Soyuz MS-13 (Expedition 60/61)
France2009 ESA Group396d 11h 34mSoyuz MS-03 (Expedition 50/51), Crew-2 (Expedition 65/66)
Germany2015 ESA Group176d 2h 39mCrew-3 (Expedition 66/67)
Rosemary Coogan United Kingdom2022 ESA Group0d 0h 0m N/A
Sophie Adenot France2022 ESA Group0d 0h 0mN/A
Pablo Álvarez Fernández Spain2022 ESA Group0d 0h 0mN/A
Raphaël Liégeois Belgium2022 ESA Group0d 0h 0mN/A
Marco Sieber Switzerland2022 ESA Group0d 0h 0mN/A

All of the current members of the corps, other than the 2022 ESA Group, have flown to space and have visited the ISS. French astronaut Thomas Pesquet is the member of the corps who has accumulated the most time in space with 396 days, 11 hours and 34 minutes. He is the record holder for all the European astronauts in history. The corps currently includes one woman, Samantha Cristoforetti, who formerly held the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman. Timothy Peake, a member of the 2009 group, retired in 2023.[1]

2009 Group

On 3 April 2008, ESA director general Jean-Jacques Dordain announced that recruiting for a new class of European astronauts will start in the near future.[2] The selection program for 4 new astronauts was launched on 19 May 2008 with applications due by 16 June 2008 so that final selection would be due spring 2009.[3] Almost 10,000 people registered as astronaut candidates as of 18 June 2008. 8,413 fulfilled the initial application criteria. From these 918 were chosen to take part in the first stage of psychological testing which led to 192 candidates on 24 September 2008. After two stage psychological tests 80 candidates continued on to medical evaluation in January–February 2009. 40 or so candidates head to formal interviews to select four new members to European Astronaut Corps.

2022 Group

Recruitment for the 2022 ESA Astronaut Group took place over 2021–22 and added five "career" astronauts as well as for the first time a "reserve pool" of 11 astronaut candidates, and also a person with a physical disability through the "parastronaut feasibility project".[4] [5]

In June 2023, Marcus Wandt, originally a reserve astronaut, was selected for Axiom Space mission and transitioned to "project" astronaut.[6] This later was set in place for Polish reserve astronaut Sławosz Uznański.

NameCountryRole
Sophie Adenot[7] Career astronaut
Pablo Álvarez Fernández[8] Career astronaut
Rosemary Coogan[9] Career astronaut
Raphaël Liégeois[10] Career astronaut
Marco Alain Sieber[11] Career astronaut
John McFall[12] Parastronaut
Meganne Christian[13] Astronaut reserve
Anthea Comellini[14] Astronaut reserve
Sara García Alonso[15] Astronaut reserve
Andrea Patassa[16] Astronaut reserve
Carmen Possnig[17] Astronaut reserve
Arnaud Prost[18] Astronaut reserve
Amelie Schoenenwald[19] Astronaut reserve
Aleš Svoboda[20] Astronaut reserve
Sławosz Uznański[21] Project astronaut
Marcus Wandt[22] Project astronaut
Nicola Winter[23] Astronaut reserve

The funding by NASA and Russia of the International Space Station is currently planned to end in 2030. Thanks to their involvement with NASA's Orion programme, ESA will receive three flight opportunities for European astronauts to the Lunar Gateway.[24]

Former members

There are 18 former members of the ESA astronaut corps.[25]

Some ESA astronauts were selected by other European agencies and then enrolled into the European Astronaut Corps in 1998.

NameCountrySelectionTime in spaceMissions
Hans Schlegel Germany22d 18h 01mSTS-55, STS-122
André Kuipers Netherlands1998 ESA Group203d 15h 50m Soyuz TMA-4/3, Soyuz TMA-03M (Expedition 30/31)
Christer Fuglesang Sweden1992 ESA Group26d 17h 37mSTS-116, STS-128
Léopold Eyharts France1990 CNES Group68d 21h 28mSoyuz TM-27/26, STS-122/123 (Expedition 16)
Jean-François Clervoy France1992 ESA Group28d 03h 04mSTS-66, STS-84, STS-103
Maurizio Cheli Italy1992 ESA Group15d 17h 41mSTS-75
Pedro Duque Spain1992 ESA Group18d 18h 46mSTS-95, Soyuz TMA-3/2
Reinhold Ewald Germany19d 16h 34mSoyuz TM-25/24
Umberto Guidoni Italy1989 ASI Group27d 15h 10m STS-75, STS-100
Claudie Haigneré née André-Deshays France1985 CNES Group25d 14h 22mSoyuz TM-24/23, Soyuz TM-33/32
Jean-Pierre Haigneré France1985 CNES Group209d 12h 24mSoyuz TM-17/16, Soyuz TM-29 (Mir EO-27)
Ulf Merbold Germany1978 ESA Group49d 21h 36mSTS-9, STS-42, Soyuz TM-20/19 (Euromir 94)
Belgium1992 ESA GroupN/AN/A
Ernst Messerschmid7d 00h 44mSTS-61-A
Paolo Nespoli Italy1998 ESA Group313d 02h 36mSTS-120, Soyuz TMA-20 (Expedition 26/27), Soyuz MS-05 (Expedition 52/53)
Claude Nicollier Switzerland1978 ESA Group42d 12h 03mSTS-46, STS-61, STS-75, STS-103
Wubbo Ockels Netherlands1978 ESA Group7d 00h 44mSTS-61-A
Philippe Perrin France1990 CNES Group13d 20h 35mSTS-111
Thomas Reiter Germany1992 ESA Group350d 05h 35mSoyuz TM-22 (Mir EO-20), STS-121/116 (Expedition 13/14)
Gerhard Thiele Germany11d 05h 38mSTS-99
Michel Tognini France1985 CNES Group18d 17h 45mSoyuz TM-15/14, STS-93
Frank de Winne Belgium1998 ESA Group198d 17h 34mSoyuz TMA-1/TM-34, Soyuz TMA-15 (Expedition 20/21)
Italy1998 ESA Group35d 12h 26mSoyuz TM-34/33, Soyuz TMA-6/5, STS-134
United Kingdom2009 ESA Group185d 22h 11mSoyuz TMA-19M (Expedition 46/47)

European astronauts outside of ESA

Interkosmos

Ten Europeans became astronauts within the Soviet Union's Interkosmos program, which allowed citizens of allied nations to fly missions to the Salyut 6, Salyut 7 and Mir space station.

Space Shuttle

NASA trained and flew astronauts from allied nations on the Space Shuttle, especially as payload specialists for scientific missions such as Spacelab. Prior to the foundation of the ESA astronaut corps, both the French CNES and the German DLR had selected their own rosters of astronauts, notably in preparation for the introduction of the ISS. The following people flew on various Shuttle missions.

Russian Mir missions

The following people flew on missions to Mir under agreements between their nations and Russia.

Space Shuttle missions

Astronauts from the European Astronaut Corps participated in several NASA Space Shuttle missions before the ISS era, in particular as Spacelab payload specialists. NASA considered the full-time ESA astronauts as payload specialists, but offered some the opportunity to train with its own astronauts and become NASA mission specialists.[26] (This list excludes missions to Mir or the ISS)

As Payload Specialists

As Mission Specialists

Missions to the Mir space stations

Astronauts from Europe have flown to Mir both on board Soyuz vehicles (as part of the Euromir programme) or on board the Space Shuttle.[27]

Missions to the International Space Station

European astronauts to have visited the ISS are:

Astronaut Agency Mission Launch Return Expedition Launch Date Return Date Note
19 Apr 2001 1 May 2001 Flight 6A with MPLM Raffaello, visited Expedition 2 crew
Andromède 21 Oct 2001 31 Oct 2001 Visited Expedition 3 crew
Marco Polo 25 Apr 2002 5 May 2002 Visited Expedition 4 crew
Expedition 4/55 Jun 2002 19 Jun 2002 ISS Assembly Flight UF-2, launched with Expedition 5 crew and landed with Expedition 4 crew
Odissea 30 Oct 2002 10 Nov 2002 Visited Expedition 5 crew
Cervantes Expedition 7/818 Oct 2003 28 Oct 2003 Launched with Expedition 8 crew landed with Expedition 7 crew,
DELTA Expedition 8/919 Apr 2004 30 Apr 2004 Launched with Expedition 8 crew, landed with Expedition 8 crew
Eneide Expedition 10/1115 Apr 2005 24 Apr 2005 Launched with Expedition 11 crew, landed with Expedition 10 crew
Astrolab Expedition 13/144 Jul 2006 22 Dec 2006 ISS Assembly Flight ULF 1.1, first European to live on the ISS as flight engineer on Expedition 13 and 14
Celsius 10 Dec 2006 22 Dec 2006 ISS Assembly Flight 12A.1, visited Expedition 14 crew
Esperia 23 Oct 2007 7 Nov 2007 ISS Assembly Flight 10A, visited Expedition 16 crew
7 Feb 2008 20 Feb 2008 ISS Assembly Flight 1E, visited Expedition 16 crew
7 Feb 2008 27 Mar 2008 ISS Assembly Flight 1E, second European to live on the ISS as flight engineer on Expedition 16
OasISS Expedition 20/2127 May 2009 1 Dec 2009 Flight engineer on Expedition 20, first European to command the ISS as commander of Expedition 21
AlISSé 29 Aug 2009 12 Sep 2009 ISS Assembly Flight 17A, visited Expedition 20 crew
MagISStra Expedition 26/2715 Dec 2010 24 May 2011 Flight engineer on Expedition 26 and 27
DAMA Expedition 27/2816 May 2011 1 Jun 2011 Visited Expedition 27 and 28
PromISSe Expedition 30/3121 Dec 2011 1 Jul 2012 Flight engineer on Expedition 30 and 31
Volare Expedition 36/3728 May 2013 11 Nov 2013 Flight engineer on Expedition 36 and 37, first member of the 2009 ESA astronaut class to fly
Blue Dot Expedition 40/4128 May 2014 10 Nov 2014 Flight engineer on Expedition 40 and 41
Futura Expedition 42/4323 Nov 2014 11 Jun 2015 Flight engineer on Expedition 42 and 43, Longest uninterrupted spaceflight of a European astronaut
IrISS[28] Soyuz TMA-18MSoyuz TMA-16MExpedition 442 Sep 2015 12 Sep 2015Visited Expedition 44 crew, first Danish astronaut
Principia[29] Expedition 46/4715 Dec 2015 18 June 2016 Flight engineer on Expedition 46 and 47
Proxima[30] Expedition 50/5117 Nov 2016 16 May 2017 Flight engineer on Expedition 50 and 51
Paolo Nespoli[31] Vita Expedition 52/5328 July 2017 14 December 2017 Flight engineer on Expedition 52 and 53
Horizons Expedition 56/576 June 2018 20 December 2018 Flight engineer on Expedition 56, second European to command the ISS as commander of Expedition 57
BeyondSoyuz MS-13Soyuz MS-13Expedition 60/6120 July 20196 February 2020Flight engineer on Expedition 60, third European to command the ISS as commander of Expedition 61
AlphaSpaceX Crew-2SpaceX Crew-2Expedition 65/6623 April 20219 November 2021 Flight engineer on Expedition 65, fourth European to command the ISS as commander of the final part of Expedition 65 and the first part of Expedition 66.
Cosmic KissSpaceX Crew-3SpaceX Crew-3Expedition 66/6711 November 20216 May 2022Flight engineer on Expedition 66 and 67
Minerva Expedition 67/6827 Apr 2022 14 Oct 2022 Flight engineer on Expedition 67, fifth European to command the ISS as commander of the first part of Expedition 68.
Huginn[32] Expeditions 69/70 26 August 2023 12 March 2024 First non-American astronaut to pilot a United States spacecraft. Sixth European to command the ISS as commander of the first part of Expedition 70.
ESA (Project) Muninn[33] Visiting 18 January 2024[34] 9 February 2024 First ESA Astronaut on a private mission to ISS, first from the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group to fly in space, First ESA project astronaut, fastest-trained astronaut in history after selection to fly into orbit.

Future missions to the International Space Station

Future European astronauts to the ISS are:

See also

References

  1. Web site: Astronaut Tim Peake assumes ESA ambassadorial role . 2023-01-20 . www.esa.int . en.
  2. Web site: Clark. Stephen. 3 April 2008. Europe's new cargo freighter safely docks to space station. 6 March 2016. Spaceflight Now.
  3. Web site: 24 September 2008. Closing in on new astronauts. 6 March 2016. ESA.
  4. Web site: Astronaut selection 2021-22 FAQs. 2021-05-26. www.esa.int. en.
  5. Web site: ESA presents new generation of ESA astronauts . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  6. Web site: 15 June 2023 . N° 28–2023: ESA proposes Marcus Wandt from Sweden to fly on a future Axiom space mission . 15 June 2023 . . en. .
  7. Web site: Sophie Adenot . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  8. Web site: Pablo Álvarez Fernández . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  9. Web site: Rosemary Coogan . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  10. Web site: Raphaël Liégeois . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  11. Web site: Marco Alain Sieber . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  12. Web site: John McFall . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  13. Web site: Meganne Christian . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  14. Web site: Anthea Comellini . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  15. Web site: Sara García Alonso . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  16. Web site: Andrea Patassa . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  17. Web site: Carmen Possnig . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  18. Web site: Arnaud Prost . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  19. Web site: Amelie Schoenenwald . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  20. Web site: Aleš Svoboda . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  21. Web site: Sławosz Uznański . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  22. Web site: Marcus Wandt . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  23. Web site: Nicola Winter . 2022-11-23 . www.esa.int . en.
  24. http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Positive_signs_for_Europe_as_ESA_goes_forward_to_the_Moon Positive signs for Europe as ESA goes forward to the Moon
  25. Web site: European astronauts in new functions . . 2 August 2019 . 22 September 2019.
  26. Book: Croft . Melvin . Come Fly with Us: NASA's Payload Specialist Program . Youskauskas . John . University of Nebraska Press . 2019 . 61–63 . 9781496212252 . Outward Odyssey: a People's History of Spaceflight.
  27. Web site: European Manned Spaceflight Patches. ESA. 29 October 2009. 15 December 2010.
  28. Web site: The iriss name and logos. ESA. 25 November 2015. 6 March 2016.
  29. Web site: ESA mission name for astronaut Tim Peake: Principia F. ESA. 18 July 2014. 6 March 2016.
  30. Web site: Thomas Pesquet closer to space with mission name Proxima. ESA. 12 November 2015. 6 March 2016.
  31. Web site: Third spaceflight for astronaut Paolo Nespoli. ESA. 30 July 2015. 6 March 2016.
  32. Web site: Introducing Huginn . ESA . 2022-08-18.
  33. Web site: Muninn Mission Patch and Name . ESA . 2023-06-16.
  34. Web site: 2023-09-12 . Axiom Space Announces Astronauts for Third Mission to ISS . 2024-09-01 . Axiom Space . en-US.
  35. https://polsa.gov.pl/wydarzenia/ignis/
  36. Web site: 2024-08-05 . Axiom Mission 4 to ISS will include India, Poland, Hungary . 2024-09-01 . Axiom Space . en-US.

External links

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