European Astronaut Corps

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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[]

There are seven active members of the European Astronaut Corps.

Name
 Country
 Selection
 Time in space
 Missions
Samantha Cristoforetti Symbol venus.svg  Italy 2009 ESA Group 199d 16h 43m Soyuz TMA-15M (Expedition 42/43), Crew-4 (Expedition 67/68) (Planned)
Alexander Gerst Blue Mars symbol.svg  Germany 2009 ESA Group 362d 1h 50m Soyuz TMA-13M (Expedition 40/41), Soyuz MS-09 (Expedition 56/57)
Andreas Mogensen Blue Mars symbol.svg  Denmark 2009 ESA Group 9d 20h 14m Soyuz TMA-18M/16M
Luca Parmitano Blue Mars symbol.svg  Italy 2009 ESA Group 366d 23h 1m Soyuz TMA-09M (Expedition 36/37), Soyuz MS-13 (Expedition 60/61)
Timothy Peake Blue Mars symbol.svg  United Kingdom 2009 ESA Group 185d 22h 11m Soyuz TMA-19M (Expedition 46/47)
Thomas Pesquet Blue Mars symbol.svg  France 2009 ESA Group Currently in space Soyuz MS-03 (Expedition 50/51), Crew-2 (Expedition 65/66)
Matthias Maurer Blue Mars symbol.svg  Germany 2015 ESA Group N/A Crew-3 (Expedition 66/67) (Planned)

All of the current members of the corps have flown to space, except Maurer. All flown members have visited the ISS. Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano is the member of the corps who has accumulated the most time in space with 366 days 23 hour and 1 minute. 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. Only two other women have been members of the corps. Marianne Merchez who never flew, and Claudie Haigneré who resigned after two missions to start a political career in France.

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.[1] The selection program for 4 new astronauts was launched on 19 May 2008 with applications due by 16 June 2008[citation needed] so that final selection would be due spring 2009.[2] 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.[2]

2022 Group[]

A new recruitment round, for the 2022 ESA Astronaut Group, is currently underway. Between 4-6 new ESA astronaut candidates are expected to be announced in October 2022, as well as for the first time a "reserve pool" of astronaut candidates and also a person with a physical disability through the "parastronaut feasibility project".[3]

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.[4]

Former members[]

There are 18 former members of the ESA astronaut corps.[5]

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

Name
 Country
 Selection
 Time in space
 Missions
Blue Mars symbol.svg Hans Schlegel Germany Germany 1987 DLR Group 22d 18h 01m STS-55, STS-122
Blue Mars symbol.svg André Kuipers Netherlands The Netherlands 1998 ESA Group 203d 15h 50m Soyuz TMA-4/3, Soyuz TMA-03M (Expedition 30/31)
Blue Mars symbol.svg Christer Fuglesang Sweden Sweden 1992 ESA Group 26d 17h 37m STS-116, STS-128
Blue Mars symbol.svg Léopold Eyharts France France 1990 CNES Group 68d 21h 28m Soyuz TM-27/26, STS-122/123 (Expedition 16)
Blue Mars symbol.svg Jean-François Clervoy France France 1998 ESA Group 28d 03h 04m STS-66, STS-84, STS-103
Blue Mars symbol.svg Maurizio Cheli Italy Italy 1992 ESA Group 15d 17h 41m STS-75
Blue Mars symbol.svg Pedro Duque Spain Spain 1992 ESA Group 18d 18h 46m STS-95, Soyuz TMA-3/2
Blue Mars symbol.svg Reinhold Ewald Germany Germany 1990 DLR Group 19d 16h 34m Soyuz TM-25/24
Blue Mars symbol.svg Umberto Guidoni Italy Italy 1989 ASI Group 27d 15h 10m STS-75, STS-100
Symbol venus.svg Claudie Haigneré née André-Deshays France France 1985 CNES Group 25d 14h 22m Soyuz TM-24/23, Soyuz TM-33/32
Blue Mars symbol.svg Jean-Pierre Haigneré France France 1985 CNES Group 209d 12h 24m Soyuz TM-17/16, Soyuz TM-29 (Mir EO-27)
Blue Mars symbol.svg Ulf Merbold Germany Germany 1978 ESA Group 49d 21h 36m STS-9, STS-42, Soyuz TM-20/19 (Euromir 94)
Symbol venus.svg Marianne Merchez Belgium Belgium 1992 ESA Group N/A N/A
Blue Mars symbol.svg Ernst Messerschmid Germany Germany 1982 DLR Group 7d 00h 44m STS-61-A
Blue Mars symbol.svg Paolo Nespoli Italy Italy 1998 ESA Group 313d 02h 36m STS-120, Soyuz TMA-20 (Expedition 26/27), Soyuz MS-05 (Expedition 52/53)
Blue Mars symbol.svg Claude Nicollier Switzerland Switzerland 1978 ESA Group 42d 12h 03m STS-46, STS-61, STS-75, STS-103
Blue Mars symbol.svg Wubbo Ockels Netherlands The Netherlands 1978 ESA Group 7d 00h 44m STS-61-A
Blue Mars symbol.svg Philippe Perrin France France 1990 CNES Group 13d 20h 35m STS-111
Blue Mars symbol.svg Thomas Reiter Germany Germany 1992 ESA Group 350d 05h 35m Soyuz TM-22 (Mir EO-20), STS-121/116 (Expedition 13/14)
Blue Mars symbol.svg Gerhard Thiele Germany Germany 1987 DLR Group 11d 05h 38m STS-99
Blue Mars symbol.svg Michel Tognini France France 1985 CNES Group 18d 17h 45m Soyuz TM-15/14, STS-93
Blue Mars symbol.svg Frank de Winne Belgium Belgium 1998 ESA Group 198d 17h 34m Soyuz TMA-1/TM-34, Soyuz TMA-15 (Expedition 20/21)
Blue Mars symbol.svg Roberto Vittori Italy Italy 1998 ESA Group 35d 12h 26m Soyuz TM-34/33, Soyuz TMA-6/5, STS-134

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.[a]

  1. ^ Other European astronauts who flew on the Space Shuttle were transferred to the ESA astronaut corps, and are listed above.

Mir[]

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.[6] (This list excludes missions to Mir or the ISS)

As Payload Specialists[]

  • Ulf Merbold – STS-9 (Spacelab), STS-42 (Spacelab)
  • Reinhard Furrer – STS-61-A (Spacelab-D1 Mission)
  • Wubbo Ockels – STS-61-A (Spacelab-D1 Mission)
  • Hans Schlegel – STS-55 (Spacelab-D2 Mission)
  • Ulrich Walter – STS-55 (Spacelab-D2 Mission)

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.[7]

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
Italy Blue Mars symbol.svg Umberto Guidoni ESA STS-100 STS-100 Expedition 2 19 Apr 2001 1 May 2001 Flight 6A with MPLM Raffaello, visited Expedition 2 crew
France Symbol venus.svg Claudie Haigneré CNES Andromède Soyuz TM-33 Soyuz TM-32 Expedition 3 21 Oct 2001 31 Oct 2001 Visited Expedition 3 crew
Italy Blue Mars symbol.svg Roberto Vittori ESA Marco Polo Soyuz TM-34 Soyuz TM-33 Expedition 4 25 Apr 2002 5 May 2002 Visited Expedition 4 crew
France Blue Mars symbol.svg Philippe Perrin CNES STS-111 STS-111 Expedition 4/5 5 Jun 2002 19 Jun 2002 ISS Assembly Flight UF-2, launched with Expedition 5 crew and landed with Expedition 4 crew
Belgium Blue Mars symbol.svg Frank De Winne ESA Odissea Soyuz TMA-1 Soyuz TM-34 Expedition 5 30 Oct 2002 10 Nov 2002 Visited Expedition 5 crew
Spain Blue Mars symbol.svg Pedro Duque ESA Cervantes Soyuz TMA-3 Soyuz TMA-2 Expedition 7/8 18 Oct 2003 28 Oct 2003 Launched with Expedition 8 crew landed with Expedition 7 crew,
Netherlands Blue Mars symbol.svg André Kuipers ESA DELTA Soyuz TMA-4 Soyuz TMA-3 Expedition 8/9 19 Apr 2004 30 Apr 2004 Launnched with Expedition 8 crew, landed with Expedition 8 crew
Italy Blue Mars symbol.svg Roberto Vittori ESA Eneide Soyuz TMA-6 Soyuz TMA-5 Expedition 10/11 15 Apr 2005 24 Apr 2005 Launched with Expedition 11 crew, landed with Expedition 10 crew
Germany Blue Mars symbol.svg Thomas Reiter ESA Astrolab STS-121 STS-116 Expedition 13/14 4 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
Sweden Blue Mars symbol.svg Christer Fuglesang ESA Celsius STS-116 STS-116 Expedition 14 10 Dec 2006 22 Dec 2006 ISS Assembly Flight 12A.1, visited Expedition 14 crew
Italy Blue Mars symbol.svg Paolo Nespoli ESA Esperia STS-120 STS-120 Expedition 16 23 Oct 2007 7 Nov 2007 ISS Assembly Flight 10A, visited Expedition 16 crew
Germany Blue Mars symbol.svg Hans Schlegel ESA Columbus STS-122 STS-122 Expedition 16 7 Feb 2008 20 Feb 2008 ISS Assembly Flight 1E, visited Expedition 16 crew
France Blue Mars symbol.svg Léopold Eyharts ESA Columbus STS-122 STS-123 Expedition 16 7 Feb 2008 27 Mar 2008 ISS Assembly Flight 1E, second European to live on the ISS as Flight Engineer on Expedition 16
Belgium Blue Mars symbol.svg Frank De Winne ESA OasISS Soyuz TMA-15 Soyuz TMA-15 Expedition 20/21 27 May 2009 1 Dec 2009 Flight Engineer on Expedition 20, first European to command the ISS as commander of Expedition 21
Sweden Blue Mars symbol.svg Christer Fuglesang ESA AlISSé STS-128 STS-128 Expedition 20 29 Aug 2009 12 Sep 2009 ISS Assembly Flight 17A, visited Expedition 20 crew
Italy Blue Mars symbol.svg Paolo Nespoli ESA MagISStra Soyuz TMA-20 Soyuz TMA-20 Expedition 26/27 15 Dec 2010 24 May 2011 Flight Engineer on Expedition 26 and 27
Italy Blue Mars symbol.svg Roberto Vittori ESA DAMA STS-134 STS-134 Expedition 27/28 16 May 2011 1 Jun 2011 Visited Expedition 27 and 28
Netherlands Blue Mars symbol.svg André Kuipers ESA PromISSe Soyuz TMA-03M Soyuz TMA-03M Expedition 30/31 21 Dec 2011 1 Jul 2012 Flight Engineer on Expedition 30 and 31
Italy Blue Mars symbol.svg Luca Parmitano ESA Volare Soyuz TMA-09M Soyuz TMA-09M Expedition 36/37 28 May 2013 11 Nov 2013 Flight Engineer on Expedition 36 and 37, first member of the 2009 ESA astronaut class to fly
Germany Blue Mars symbol.svg Alexander Gerst ESA Blue Dot Soyuz TMA-13M Soyuz TMA-13M Expedition 40/41 28 May 2014 10 Nov 2014 Flight Engineer on Expedition 40 and 41
Italy Symbol venus.svg Samantha Cristoforetti ESA Futura Soyuz TMA-15M Soyuz TMA-15M Expedition 42/43 23 Nov 2014 11 Jun 2015 Flight Engineer on Expedition 42 and 43, Longest uninterrupted spaceflight of a European astronaut
Denmark Blue Mars symbol.svg Andreas Mogensen ESA IrISS[8] Soyuz TMA-18M Soyuz TMA-16M Expedition 44 2 Sep 2015 12 Sep 2015 Visited Expedition 44 crew, first Danish astronaut
United Kingdom Blue Mars symbol.svg Timothy Peake ESA Principia[9] Soyuz TMA-19M Soyuz TMA-19M Expedition 46/47 15 Dec 2015 18 June 2016 Flight Engineer on Expedition 46 and 47
France Blue Mars symbol.svg Thomas Pesquet ESA Proxima[10] Soyuz MS-03 Soyuz MS-03 Expedition 50/51 17 Nov 2016 16 May 2017 Flight Engineer on Expedition 50 and 51
Italy Blue Mars symbol.svg Paolo Nespoli[11] ESA Vita Soyuz MS-05 Soyuz MS-05 Expedition 52/53 28 July 2017 14 December 2017 Flight Engineer on Expedition 52 and 53
Germany Blue Mars symbol.svg Alexander Gerst ESA Horizons Soyuz MS-09 Soyuz MS-09 Expedition 56/57 6 June 2018 20 December 2018 Flight Engineer on Expedition 56, second European to command the ISS as commander of Expedition 57
Italy Blue Mars symbol.svg Luca Parmitano ESA Beyond Soyuz MS-13 Soyuz MS-13 Expedition 60/61 20 July 2019 6 February 2020 Flight Engineer on Expedition 60, commander of Expedition 61
France Blue Mars symbol.svg Thomas Pesquet ESA Alpha SpaceX Crew-2 Expedition 65/66

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Clark, Stephen (3 April 2008). "Europe's new cargo freighter safely docks to space station". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Closing in on new astronauts". ESA. 24 September 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Astronaut selection 2021-22 FAQs". www.esa.int. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  4. ^ Positive signs for Europe as ESA goes forward to the Moon
  5. ^ "European astronauts in new functions". ESA. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  6. ^ Croft, Melvin; Youskauskas, John (2019). Come Fly with Us: NASA's Payload Specialist Program. Outward Odyssey: a People's History of Spaceflight. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 61–63. ISBN 9781496212252.
  7. ^ "European Manned Spaceflight Patches" (PDF). ESA. 29 October 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  8. ^ "The iriss name and logos". ESA. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  9. ^ "ESA mission name for astronaut Tim Peake: Principia F". ESA. 18 July 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Thomas Pesquet closer to space with mission name Proxima". ESA. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Third spaceflight for astronaut Paolo Nespoli". ESA. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2016.

External links[]

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