PARIS (AP) β Are you calm under pressure and zero gravity, open to extra-terrestrial travel and female? If so, you could be a prime candidate for the European Space Agency's first astronaut recruitment drive in 11 years.
The ESA, NASAβs European equivalent, is highlighting diversity this time to nudge the agency beyond its primarily white and male roots.
This year, the ESA is looking not only to recruit more women astronauts, but also people with disabilities who have always dreamed of going into space.
βWe are looking towards the Moon... and Mars. We need very excellent astronauts for the future,β said the ESAβs Director General Jan Worner. βTo go farther than we ever have before, we need to look wider than we ever have before.β
Only 65 of the 560 people who have ever gone into space have been women. Of those 65 women, 51 were American. The ESA has sent only two women into space - Claudie HaignerΓ© and Samantha Cristoforetti - and is now trying to redress the imbalance.
The ESA says the βtime has comeβ to put disabled people into space as part of an initiative called the Parastronaut Feasibility Project. According to the ESA, itβs the first time that a space agency anywhere has opened the application process up to people with disabilities.
βRepresenting all parts of our society is a concern that we take very seriously,β said David Parker, the agencyβs Human and Robotic Exploration Director, βDiversity at ESA should not only address the origin, age, background or gender of our astronauts, but also perhaps physical disabilities.β
British astronaut Tim Peake welcomed the approach, saying it βwill hopefully change the landscapeβ so that people from diverse backgrounds βwill see that actually there is an opportunity here to become part of Europeβs new space pioneers.β
The other requirement for the job? Patience. The application process agency officials say will take some 18 months, before the βhandfulβ of successful astronauts will be chosen.