European Space Agency seeks diversity in new astronaut drive

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, NASA's 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.

"We are looking towards the Moon... and Mars. We need very excellent astronauts for the future," said the ESA's Director General Jan Worner.

"To go farther than we ever have before, we need to look wider than we ever have before." 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 Haigneré and Samantha Cristoforetti - and is now trying to redress the imbalance.

The ESA says the "time has come" to put disabled people into space as part of an initiative called the Parastronaut Feasibility Project. According to the ESA, it's the first time that a space agency anywhere has opened the application process up to people with disabilities.

"Representing all parts of our society is a concern that we take very seriously," said David Parker, the agency's Human and Robotic Exploration Director, "Diversity at ESA should not only address the origin, age, background or gender of our astronauts, but also perhaps physical disabilities." British astronaut Tim Peake welcomed the approach, saying it "will hopefully change the landscape" so that people from diverse backgrounds "will see that actually there is an opportunity here to become part of Europe's new space pioneers." The other requirement for the job? Patience. The application process agency officials say will take some 18 months, before the "handful" of successful astronauts will be chosen.

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