The European astronaut corps

Astronauts of the European Space Agency (ESA)

In 1998, ESA Member States participating in the International Space Station (ISS) programme decided to unite their respective astronaut teams with the existing ESA core team to form a single European Astronaut Corps. This integration process was completed in 2002.

The Corps currently consists of fourteen members from Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Six new ESA astronauts (from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) were selected in May 2009 following a year-long recruitment campaign. They started their basic training at EAC in September 2009.

One of the Corps' aims is to afford ESA astronauts as much training as possible with the goal of accumulating as much expertise as possible for its astronauts thus making them valuable assets for space missions. This not only enhances ESA's human spaceflight reputation but also increases the probability of ESA astronauts being assigned to a mission.