ESA title

Exploration

Astronauts

The European Astronaut Corps

These European astronauts in the active astronaut corps have flown or are set to fly to space. Find out more about each astronaut and their activities by clicking on their profile.

ESA Astronaut Class of 2022

ESA Astronaut Candidates

In 2022, ESA selected 17 individuals to form a new class of astronauts. Among them, five astronaut candidates are currently undergoing basic training at the European Astronaut Centre in preparation for future space missions. Follow their journey as they train to become the next generation of space explorers.

Podcasts

ESA Explores

Go behind the scenes of exploration and other space topics with astronauts and experts in this official podcast from the European Space Agency.

Listen now
Topics

Exploration topics

Human spaceflight and robotic exploration expand our knowledge of the Universe and enhance life on Earth. From missions to the International Space Station (ISS), to ground-based training and future technologies, join ESA in exploring farther.

ESA Astronaut Candidates

Deep dive across the pond

ESA astronaut candidates Sophie Adenot, Rosemary Coogan, Pablo Álvarez Fernández, Raphaël Liégeois, and Marco Sieber, alongside Katherine Bennell-Pegg from the Australian Space Agency suited up in scuba gear, plunging into NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) for spacewalk training familiarisation.

Read the article
ESA Astronaut Candidates

Houston, you’ve got visitors

Last week, members of ESA’s astronaut class of 2022 embarked on their first overseas field trip. They visited NASA’s facilities at the Johnson Space Centre (JSC) in Houston, Texas, USA, to get familiar with the environment where they will spend a significant part of their training once assigned to a mission.

Read the article
Moon

Good vibrations for Gateway

The structural model of the communications system that ESA is supplying for NASA’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) on the Gateway recently completed a vibrations test to check it will withstand the intense shaking during the launch. The HALO Lunar Communication System (HLCS) is an advanced piece of technology that will enable communication between the […]

Read the article
Sławosz Uznański

Thumbs up for training

Sławosz Uznański, ESA project astronaut from Poland, gives a “thumbs-up” from the heart of the action inside the Columbus training mockup at ESA's European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.

Read the article
Sławosz Uznański

Sławosz Uznański from Poland to train as a project astronaut at the European Astronaut Centre

As of 1 September 2023, Sławosz Uznański joined ESA as a project astronaut anticipating flying on a future space mission.

Read the article
Moon

Building connections beyond Earth – modules for Gateway

ESA’s international habitat I-Hab will be connected to NASA’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost HALO. The second ESA Gateway module, the Esprit European Refuelling Module ERM, will be connected to HALO… But how do we ensure that an international lunar outpost such as Gateway connects as it should?

Read the article
Training

Between two worlds

Every week spent in a different place, in a different time zone. A myriad of training lessons, countless instructors, and never-before-seen technology. A life between airports, the new faces, the non-stop learning… and no time for lunch.

Read the article
Marcus Wandt

Applying to be an astronaut

Marcus Wandt is the first in the new generation of European astronauts to jump on a commercial spaceflight with Axiom Space. This article is part of a series about the journey behind his first mission to space, Muninn.

Read the article