NICOLA WINTER AS AN ASTRONAUT IN RESERVE
In 2022, I beat out more than 22,500 applicants in the selection process of the European Space Agency (ESA). Since then, I have been a proud member of the ESA astronaut reserve. This means that I am not currently training for space missions and my chances of flying into space in the near future are not too great. But those who know me know that I have never let anyone stop me from stcking to my dreams and pursuing my goals.
There’s a lot going on in space this year:
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ESA: The new astronaut class of ESA has officially started their training. I bet one or two of them will walk on the moon in the next decade. My money’s on Sophie Adenot – but Rosemary Coogan, Pablo Alvarez Fernández, Raphaël Liégeois and Marco Sieber also have a shot at the historic mission!
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Artemis 2: NASA has announced the astronaut crew for the historic mission to the moon.
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Starship: Elon Musk’s private space company SpaceX launched the world’s largest rocket in April 2023.
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JUICE: ESA‘s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer left for Jupiter in early April of 2023.
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Ax-2: The second mission of Axiom Space, a commercial provider of flights to the ISS, has left. On board: Rayyanah Barnawi, the first Saudi Arabian astronaut.
So the excitement continues! I write more about space topics every week in my blog and on LinkedIn.
“WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT FOR US HUMANS TO EXPLORE SPACE? IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT INVESTMENT IN OUR FUTURE. IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES, MEDICAL RESEARCH, AND VITAL RESOURCES.”
