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Schlegel's first spacewalk

ESA astronaut recruitment campaign 2008
Total number of applicants at the closure of the application period  
 

Country No. of applicants % of total applicants as 2nd citizenship* Men** Women** Austria 210 2.5% 8 195 23 Belgium 253 3.0% 8 224 37 Denmark 35 0.4% 4 34 5 Finland 336 4.0% 5 283 58 France 1860 22.1% 58 1616 302 Germany 1798 21.4% 35 1523 310 Greece 159 1.9% 14 152 21 Ireland 128 1.5% 11 110 29 Italy 927 11.0% 39 815 151 Luxembourg 14 0.2% 0 14 0 Norway 74 0.9% 2 67 9 Other 72 0.9% 309 301 80 Portugal 210 2.5% 10 192 28 Spain 789 9.4% 21 707 103 Sweden 172 2.0% 9 156 25 Switzerland 351 4.2% 26 325 52 The Netherlands 203 2.4% 2 175 30 United Kingdom 822 9.8% 42 697 167 Total 8413 100.0% 603 7586 1430

 
 
* number of applicants having stated this country as their 2nd citizenship
** number of applicants being a citizen of this country either as unique or 2nd citizenship

The Astronaut Selection Team, based at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany, now has the challenging task to select the best applicants. Those who make it through this first selection can soon expect to receive a letter inviting them to participate in the next stage - the psychological testing.
 
 
Psychological testing
 
"We now have a large number of highly qualified applicants. I am confident that we will find the outstanding individuals we are looking for. This will be ensured by the next selection steps, starting with a first round of psychological testing," said Michel Tognini, Head of the European Astronaut Centre.

Those tests aim to identify the psychological and technical skills of the applicants, who will be tested in different fields including visual memory and psychomotor aptitude.

“I am very pleased that we have received so many applications stemming from all our 17 ESA Member States,” says Simonetta Di Pippo, ESA’s Director of Human Spaceflight. “This shows that the strong commitment for Human Spaceflight and Exploration, which ESA and its Member States demonstrated in holding the first astronaut selection after more than 15 years, is met by an equally strong interest from European citizens.”
 
 
To ISS and beyond
 
This campaign is ESA's first astronaut selection since 1992, providing the opportunity to be at the forefront of ESA’s human spaceflight programmes, including future missions to the ISS and beyond.
 
 
For more information:
 
Jean Coisne, Head of EAC Communications & PR Office
Communication and Knowledge Department
Tel: +49 2203 6001 113