UK Paralympic athlete selected for European Space Agency astronauts' training group
The Guardian|November 24, 2022
A Paralympic sprinter from the UK has been named among the latest intake of astronauts recruited by the European Space Agency.
Ian Sample
UK Paralympic athlete selected for European Space Agency astronauts' training group

John McFall, 41, becomes the first astronaut with a physical disability, or para-astronaut, to be recruited by the space agency in a drive to overcome the barriers that prevent disabled people from participating in space missions.

Also joining the astronaut class of 2022 - the agency's first new recruits since 2009-is Dr Rosemary Coogan, 31, who spent time in the Royal Navy reserve and gained a PhD in astronomy before working at the French Space Agency.

Coogan becomes the first British woman to join ESA as a career astronaut and the second person from the UK to join the agency's astronaut corps after Tim Peake, a member of the class of 2009.

Another UK-born scientist, Dr Meganne Christian, 34, who worked in Antarctica before lecturing in Italy on problem-solving and decision-making, joins ESA's astronaut reserve.

A new venture for ESA, the reserve consists of astronauts who passed the selection process but will continue in their regular jobs until a mission opportunity arises.

This story is from the November 24, 2022 edition of The Guardian.

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This story is from the November 24, 2022 edition of The Guardian.

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