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A group of six European Space Agency recruits from nan people of 2022 graduated to afloat qualified astronauts connected Monday. Photo by P. Sebirot/ESA
April 22 (UPI) -- Six caller recruits of nan European Space Agency connected Monday sewage to beryllium nan latest information of afloat qualified astronauts now eligible for abstraction missions, including a female from Australia.
At a ceremonial near Cologne successful Germany's authorities of North Rhine-Westphalia, nan 5 European and 1 Australian astronaut recruits sewage their certifications to people their modulation to beryllium afloat qualified astronauts now eligible for abstraction missions.
Sophie Adenot of France, Pablo Álvarez Fernández of Spain, Rosemary Coogan from Britain, Raphaël Liégeois of Belgium, and Marco Sieber of Switzerland joined Australian Space Agency campaigner Katherine Bennell-Pegg -- connected way to beryllium Australia's first female successful abstraction -- who wrapped-up their year-long basal training culminating successful Monday's ceremony.
They were picked from a "remarkable" excavation of 22,500 astronaut applicants crossed Europe. The ESA astronaut people of November 2022 had 17 individuals which included nan 5 astronaut candidates, and 12 members successful nan European astronaut reserve.
Their training statesman April of past twelvemonth astatine their presence to nan European Astronaut Center adjacent Cologne, wherever they took portion successful training programs that included spacecraft systems, spacewalks, formation engineering, robotics, life support systems, survival, and aesculapian training.
Last Wednesday ahead of Monday's ceremony, nan ESA Director General took statement of really successful 2020 nan agency had for nan first clip since 2008, "decided to unfastened a caller telephone for a Europe-wide astronaut selection."
"This determination was important to sphere European knowhow for training astronauts successful Europe -- a cardinal capacity for our early successful abstraction exploration," said Josef Aschbacher.
On Monday, Aschbacher congratulated nan caller people by noting it now brings nan number of ESA astronauts to a full of 11 from 8 European countries. During nan ceremony, he acknowledged it was "a challenging year" and said it was "a ample effort."
"Thanks to this enlarged family, we are ensuring some our semipermanent information successful cardinal programs," he said connected societal medial astir nan Artemis programme and nan ISS.
It was called "A awesome time for Europe successful space" earlier on Monday by Anne-Sophie Bradelle, ESA's main of communications.
Now that nan caller group of astronauts person been certified, they will statesman steps toward their first missions connected nan International Space Station aliases different abstraction trips though it's presently unclear erstwhile that will beryllium but plans are successful nan works.
But Aschbacher said their first ngo will not beryllium earlier nan twelvemonth 2026.
Fellow ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer took to societal media Monday greeting to congratulate his caller colleagues.
"A caller section of European abstraction exploration unfolds, heralding a caller era for" nan European Space Agency, he said on X.
"Their unthinkable teamwork showcases nan possibilities of EAC arsenic Europe's premier astronaut training hub," wrote Maurer, who precocious completed a 175-day ngo connected nan International Space Station.
