Irish 270 candidates to join the European Space Agency
A total of 270 Irish nationals were nominated out of 22,500 candidates to join the European Space Agency, in preparation for them to join the agency`s astronaut crew in the future.
The last appointment of astronauts to the agency was in 2008, and for the year 2021, nealy 8,413 candidates have applied through the agency`s webist, who also submitted approved certificates acknowleding that they had performed the medical examinations required for the job.
It is also scheduled to choose between four and six candidates to be appointed to the positions of fixed astronauts at the authority, and twenty others will be placed on the waiting list while they continue in their current positions, until the data of the flights that they will take on board in the future is determined.
And 257 people were registered in the available jobs, including 4 Irish , of whom 24% were women, compared to 15.5% of applicants in 2008, and the European Space Agency gave the opportunity for people with disabilities to apply for the position of astronaut for the first time for the year 2021.
Applicants will also go through six stages of qualification and testing until the new members who will be accepted as core members of the agency`s astronaut body are identified, and their names will be announed in 2022.
Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the Agency , expressed his happiness and enthusiasm for this large number of applicants, which shows how intense the competition is, wishing them all good luck and appealing to themto be patient over the long testing stages, which will extend for a year and a half.
Source: RTÉ
Categories:News- Ireland
Tags:European Space Agency##Irish nominees## Astronauts##
Fatema Salem
