TheEuropean Astronaut Corps is a unit of theEuropean Space Agency (ESA) that selects, trains, and providesastronauts as crew members on U.S. and Russian space missions. The corps has 13 active members, able to serve on theInternational Space Station (ISS). The European Astronaut Corps is based at theEuropean Astronaut Centre inCologne, Germany. They can be assigned to various projects both in Europe (atESTEC, for instance) or elsewhere in the world, atNASA Johnson Space Center orStar City.
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At the time the ESA was formed, its main goals did not encompass human space flight; rather it considered itself to be primarily a scientific research organisation for uncrewed space exploration in contrast to its American and Soviet counterparts. It is therefore not surprising that the first non-Soviet European in space was not an ESA astronaut on a European space craft; it was CzechoslovakVladimír Remek who in 1978 became the first non-Soviet or American in space (the first man in space beingYuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union) – on aSovietSoyuz spacecraft, followed by the PoleMirosław Hermaszewski and East GermanSigmund Jähn in the same year. This Soviet co-operation programme, known asIntercosmos, primarily involved the participation ofEastern bloc countries. In 1982, however,Jean-Loup Chrétien became the firstnon-Communist Bloc astronaut on a flight to the SovietSalyut 7 space station.
Because Chrétien did not officially fly into space as an ESA astronaut, but rather as a member of the FrenchCNES astronaut corps, the GermanUlf Merbold is considered the first ESA astronaut to fly into space. He participated in theSTS-9Space Shuttle mission that included the first use of the European-builtSpacelab in 1983. STS-9 marked the beginning of an extensive ESA/NASA joint partnership that included dozens of space flights of ESA astronauts in the following years. Some of these missions with Spacelab were fully funded and organisationally and scientifically controlled by the ESA (such as two missions by Germany and one by Japan) with European astronauts as full crew members rather than guests on board. Beside paying for Spacelab flights and seats on the shuttles, the ESA continued its human space flight co-operation with the Soviet Union and later Russia, including numerous visits toMir.
During the latter half of the 1980s, European human space flights changed from being the exception to routine and therefore, in 1990, theEuropean Astronaut Centre inCologne, Germany was established. It selects and trains prospective astronauts and is responsible for the co-ordination with international partners, especially with regard to theInternational Space Station. As of 2006, the ESA astronaut corps officially included twelve members, including nationals from most large European countries except the United Kingdom.
In 2008, the ESA started to recruit new astronauts so that final selection would be due in spring 2009. Almost 10,000 people registered as astronaut candidates before registration ended in June 2008. 8,413 fulfilled the initial application criteria. Of the applicants, 918 were chosen to take part in the first stage of psychological testing, which narrowed down the field to 192. After two-stage psychological tests and medical evaluation in early 2009, as well as formal interviews, six new members of the European Astronaut Corps were selected – five men and one woman.[1]As of 2024, there are eleven active members of the European Astronaut Corps. Five were selected in 2009, one was selected in 2015, and the remaining five selected in 2022.
Missions initalics are scheduled and subject to change.
| Name | Country | Selection | Time in space | Missions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samantha Cristoforetti |  Italy | 2009 | 370d 5h 45m | Soyuz TMA-15M (Expedition 42/43) Crew-4 (Expedition 67/68) |
| Alexander Gerst |  Germany | 2009 | 362d 1h 50m | Soyuz TMA-13M (Expedition 40/41) Soyuz MS-09 (Expedition 56/57) |
| Andreas Mogensen |  Denmark | 2009 | 208d 22h 34m | Soyuz TMA-18M/16M Crew-7 (Expedition 69/70) |
| Luca Parmitano | Italy | 2009 | 366d 23h 1m | Soyuz TMA-09M (Expedition 36/37) Soyuz MS-13 (Expedition 60/61) |
| Thomas Pesquet |  France | 2009 | 396d 11h 34m | Soyuz MS-03 (Expedition 50/51) Crew-2 (Expedition 65/66) |
| Matthias Maurer | Germany | 2015 | 176d 2h 39m | Crew-3 (Expedition 66/67) |
| Rosemary Coogan |  United Kingdom | 2022 | 0 | None, awaiting assignment |
| Sophie Adenot | France | 2022 | 0 | SpaceX Crew-12 (Expedition 74/75) |
| Pablo Álvarez Fernández |  Spain | 2022 | 0 | None, awaiting assignment |
| Raphaël Liégeois |  Belgium | 2022 | 0 | None, awaiting assignment |
| Marco Sieber |  Switzerland | 2022 | 0 | None, awaiting assignment |
All of the current members of the corps, other than the 2022 ESA Group, have flown to space and have visited the ISS. French astronautThomas Pesquet is the member of the corps who has accumulated the most time in space with 396 days, 11 hours, and 34 minutes. He is the record holder for all the European astronauts in history. The corps currently includesSamantha Cristoforetti, who formerly held the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman.
On 3 April 2008, ESA director generalJean-Jacques Dordain announced that recruiting for a new class of European astronauts will start in the near future.[2] The selection program for 4 new astronauts was launched on 19 May 2008 with applications due by 16 June 2008[citation needed] so that final selection would be due spring 2009.[3] Almost 10,000 people registered as astronaut candidates as of 18 June 2008. 8,413 fulfilled the initial application criteria. From these 918 were chosen to take part in the first stage of psychological testing which led to 192 candidates on 24 September 2008. After two stage psychological tests 80 candidates continued on to medical evaluation in January–February 2009. 40 or so candidates head to formal interviews to select four new members to European Astronaut Corps.[3]
Recruitment for the2022 ESA Astronaut Group took place over 2021–22 and added five "career" astronauts as well as for the first time a "reserve pool" of 11 astronaut candidates, and also a person with aphysical disability through the "parastronaut feasibility project".[4][5]
In June 2023, Marcus Wandt, originally a reserve astronaut, was selected for Axiom Space mission and transitioned to "project" astronaut.[6] This later was set in place for Polish reserve astronautSławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski.
| Name | Country | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Sophie Adenot[7] | France | Career |
| Pablo Álvarez Fernández[8] | Spain | Career |
| Rosemary Coogan[9] | United Kingdom | Career |
| Raphaël Liégeois[10] | Belgium | Career |
| Marco Alain Sieber[11] | Switzerland | Career |
| John McFall[12] | United Kingdom | Project |
| Sławosz Uznański[13] |  Poland | Project |
| Marcus Wandt[14] |  Sweden | Project |
| Meganne Christian[15] | United Kingdom | Reserve |
| Anthea Comellini[16] | Italy | Reserve |
| Sara García Alonso[17] | Spain | Reserve |
| Andrea Patassa[18] | Italy | Reserve |
| Carmen Possnig[19] |  Austria | Reserve |
| Arnaud Prost[20] | France | Reserve |
| Amelie Schoenenwald[21] | Germany | Reserve |
| Aleš Svoboda[22] |  Czech Republic | Reserve |
| Nicola Winter[23] | Germany | Reserve |
The funding by NASA and Russia of theInternational Space Station is currently planned to end in 2030. Thanks to their involvement with NASA'sOrion programme, ESA will receive three flight opportunities for European astronauts to theLunar Gateway.[24]
There are 18 former members of the ESA astronaut corps.[25]
Some ESA astronauts were selected by other European agencies and then enrolled into the European Astronaut Corps in 1998.
The following people (all retired or active duty astronauts) have served as Head of the European Astronaut Corps.
| Name | Country | Years served | Missions Flown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ernst Messerschmid[26] | Germany | 2000–2004 | STS-61-A |
| Michel Tognini[27] | France | 2005–2011 | Soyuz TM-15/14,STS-93 |
| Frank de Winne[28] | Belgium | 2012–2025 | Soyuz TMA-1/TM-34,Soyuz TMA-15 (Expedition 20/21) |
| Andreas Mogensen[29] | Denmark | 2025–present | Soyuz TMA-18M/16M,Crew-7 (Expedition 69/70) |
Ten Europeans became astronauts within the Soviet Union'sInterkosmos program, which allowed citizens of allied nations to fly missions to theSalyut 6,Salyut 7 andMir space station.
Aleksandr Panayotov AleksandrovJean-Loup Chrétien
Bertalan FarkasMirosław HermaszewskiGeorgi Ivanov
Sigmund Jähn
Dumitru PrunariuVladimír RemekHelen SharmanFranz ViehböckNASA trained and flew astronauts from allied nations on theSpace Shuttle, especially as payload specialists for scientific missions such asSpacelab. Prior to the foundation of the ESA astronaut corps, both the FrenchCNES and the GermanDLR had selected their own rosters of astronauts, notably in preparation for the introduction of the ISS. The following people flew on various Shuttle missions.[a]
Patrick BaudryJean-Jacques FavierDirk FrimoutReinhard Furrer
Leonid KadeniukFranco MalerbaUlrich WalterThe following people flew on missions toMir under agreements between their nations and Russia.
Hungary developed their own independent Astronaut Program,HUNOR or the Hungarian to Orbit program, to select and train a Hungarian astronaut (Tibor Kapu), and backup (Gyula Cserényi), for the privateAxiom Mission 4. As such, despite being astronauts of theHungarian Space Office, neither are members of the European Astronaut Corps.
Astronauts from the European Astronaut Corps participated in severalNASASpace Shuttle missions before the ISS era, in particular asSpacelabpayload specialists. NASA considered the full-time ESA astronauts as payload specialists, but offered some the opportunity to train with its own astronauts and become NASAmission specialists.[30](This list excludes missions to Mir or the ISS)
Astronauts from Europe have flown toMir both on boardSoyuz vehicles (as part of theEuromir programme) or on board theSpace Shuttle.[31]
FranceUKAustriaGermanyFranceFranceGermanyGermanyFranceGermanyFranceFranceFrance
SlovakiaEuropean astronauts to have visited theISS are:
| Astronaut | Agency | Mission | Launch | Return | Expedition | Launch Date | Return Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Umberto Guidoni | ESA | STS-100 | STS-100 | Expedition 2 | 19 Apr 2001 | 1 May 2001 | Flight 6A withMPLM Raffaello, visited Expedition 2 crew | |
| Claudie Haigneré | CNES | Andromède | Soyuz TM-33 | Soyuz TM-32 | Expedition 3 | 21 Oct 2001 | 31 Oct 2001 | Visited Expedition 3 crew |
| Roberto Vittori | ESA | Marco Polo | Soyuz TM-34 | Soyuz TM-33 | Expedition 4 | 25 Apr 2002 | 5 May 2002 | Visited Expedition 4 crew |
| Philippe Perrin | CNES | STS-111 | STS-111 | Expedition 4/5 | 5 Jun 2002 | 19 Jun 2002 | ISS Assembly Flight UF-2, launched with Expedition 5 crew and landed with Expedition 4 crew | |
| Frank De Winne | ESA | Odissea | Soyuz TMA-1 | Soyuz TM-34 | Expedition 5 | 30 Oct 2002 | 10 Nov 2002 | Visited Expedition 5 crew |
| Pedro Duque | ESA | Cervantes | Soyuz TMA-3 | Soyuz TMA-2 | Expedition 7/8 | 18 Oct 2003 | 28 Oct 2003 | Launched with Expedition 8 crew landed with Expedition 7 crew, |
 André Kuipers | ESA | DELTA | Soyuz TMA-4 | Soyuz TMA-3 | Expedition 8/9 | 19 Apr 2004 | 30 Apr 2004 | Launched with Expedition 8 crew, landed with Expedition 8 crew |
| Roberto Vittori | ESA | Eneide | Soyuz TMA-6 | Soyuz TMA-5 | Expedition 10/11 | 15 Apr 2005 | 24 Apr 2005 | Launched with Expedition 11 crew, landed with Expedition 10 crew |
| Thomas Reiter | ESA | Astrolab | STS-121 | STS-116 | Expedition 13/14 | 4 Jul 2006 | 22 Dec 2006 | ISS Assembly Flight ULF 1.1, first European to live on the ISS as flight engineer on Expedition 13 and 14 |
| Christer Fuglesang | ESA | Celsius | STS-116 | STS-116 | Expedition 14 | 10 Dec 2006 | 22 Dec 2006 | ISS Assembly Flight 12A.1, visited Expedition 14 crew |
| Paolo Nespoli | ESA | Esperia | STS-120 | STS-120 | Expedition 16 | 23 Oct 2007 | 7 Nov 2007 | ISS Assembly Flight 10A, visited Expedition 16 crew |
| Hans Schlegel | ESA | Columbus | STS-122 | STS-122 | Expedition 16 | 7 Feb 2008 | 20 Feb 2008 | ISS Assembly Flight 1E, visited Expedition 16 crew |
| Léopold Eyharts | ESA | Columbus | STS-122 | STS-123 | Expedition 16 | 7 Feb 2008 | 27 Mar 2008 | ISS Assembly Flight 1E, second European to live on the ISS as flight engineer on Expedition 16 |
| Frank De Winne | ESA | OasISS | Soyuz TMA-15 | Soyuz TMA-15 | Expedition 20/21 | 27 May 2009 | 1 Dec 2009 | Flight engineer on Expedition 20, first European to command the ISS as commander of Expedition 21 |
| Christer Fuglesang | ESA | AlISSé | STS-128 | STS-128 | Expedition 20 | 29 Aug 2009 | 12 Sep 2009 | ISS Assembly Flight 17A, visited Expedition 20 crew |
| Paolo Nespoli | ESA | MagISStra | Soyuz TMA-20 | Soyuz TMA-20 | Expedition 26/27 | 15 Dec 2010 | 24 May 2011 | Flight engineer on Expedition 26 and 27 |
| Roberto Vittori | ESA | DAMA | STS-134 | STS-134 | Expedition 27/28 | 16 May 2011 | 1 Jun 2011 | Visited Expedition 27 and 28 |
| André Kuipers | ESA | PromISSe | Soyuz TMA-03M | Soyuz TMA-03M | Expedition 30/31 | 21 Dec 2011 | 1 Jul 2012 | Flight engineer on Expedition 30 and 31 |
| Luca Parmitano | ESA | Volare | Soyuz TMA-09M | Soyuz TMA-09M | Expedition 36/37 | 28 May 2013 | 11 Nov 2013 | Flight engineer on Expedition 36 and 37, first member of the 2009 ESA astronaut class to fly |
| Alexander Gerst | ESA | Blue Dot | Soyuz TMA-13M | Soyuz TMA-13M | Expedition 40/41 | 28 May 2014 | 10 Nov 2014 | Flight engineer on Expedition 40 and 41 |
| Samantha Cristoforetti | ESA | Futura | Soyuz TMA-15M | Soyuz TMA-15M | Expedition 42/43 | 23 Nov 2014 | 11 Jun 2015 | Flight engineer on Expedition 42 and 43, Longest uninterrupted spaceflight of a European astronaut |
| Andreas Mogensen | ESA | IrISS[32] | Soyuz TMA-18M | Soyuz TMA-16M | Expedition 44 | 2 Sep 2015 | 12 Sep 2015 | Visited Expedition 44 crew, first Danish astronaut |
| Timothy Peake | ESA | Principia[33] | Soyuz TMA-19M | Soyuz TMA-19M | Expedition 46/47 | 15 Dec 2015 | 18 June 2016 | Flight engineer on Expedition 46 and 47 |
| Thomas Pesquet | ESA | Proxima[34] | Soyuz MS-03 | Soyuz MS-03 | Expedition 50/51 | 17 Nov 2016 | 16 May 2017 | Flight engineer on Expedition 50 and 51 |
| Paolo Nespoli[35] | ESA | Vita | Soyuz MS-05 | Soyuz MS-05 | Expedition 52/53 | 28 July 2017 | 14 December 2017 | Flight engineer on Expedition 52 and 53 |
| Alexander Gerst | ESA | Horizons | Soyuz MS-09 | Soyuz MS-09 | Expedition 56/57 | 6 June 2018 | 20 December 2018 | Flight engineer on Expedition 56, second European to command the ISS as commander of Expedition 57 |
| Luca Parmitano | ESA | Beyond | Soyuz MS-13 | Soyuz MS-13 | Expedition 60/61 | 20 July 2019 | 6 February 2020 | Flight engineer on Expedition 60, third European to command the ISS as commander of Expedition 61 |
| Thomas Pesquet | ESA | Alpha | SpaceX Crew-2 | SpaceX Crew-2 | Expedition 65/66 | 23 April 2021 | 9 November 2021 | Flight engineer on Expedition 65, fourth European to command the ISS as commander of the final part of Expedition 65 and the first part of Expedition 66. |
| Matthias Maurer | ESA | Cosmic Kiss | SpaceX Crew-3 | SpaceX Crew-3 | Expedition 66/67 | 11 November 2021 | 6 May 2022 | Flight engineer on Expedition 66 and 67 |
| Samantha Cristoforetti | ESA | Minerva | SpaceX Crew-4 | SpaceX Crew-4 | Expedition 67/68 | 27 Apr 2022 | 14 Oct 2022 | Flight engineer on Expedition 67, fifth European to command the ISS as commander of the first part of Expedition 68. |
| Andreas Mogensen | ESA | Huginn[36] | SpaceX Crew-7 | SpaceX Crew-7 | Expeditions 69/70 | 26 August 2023 | 12 March 2024 | First non-American astronaut to pilot a United States spacecraft. Sixth European to command the ISS as commander of the first part of Expedition 70. |
| Marcus Wandt | ESA (Project) | Muninn[37] | Axiom Mission 3 | Axiom Mission 3 | Visiting | 18 January 2024[38] | 9 February 2024 | First ESA Astronaut on a private mission to ISS, first from the2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group to fly in space, First ESA project astronaut, fastest-trained astronaut in history after selection to fly into orbit. |
| Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski | ESA (Project) | Ignis[39] | Axiom Mission 4[40] | Axiom Mission 4 | Visiting | 25 June 2025 | July 2025 | Second ESA Astronaut on a private mission to ISS. |
Future European astronauts to theISS are:
| Astronaut | Agency | Mission | Launch | Return | Expedition | Launch Date | Return Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sophie Adenot | ESA | Epsilon | SpaceX Crew-12 | SpaceX Crew-12 | Expeditions 74/75 | Q2 2026 | ||
| Aleš Svoboda (Project)[41][42] | ESA | Visiting | NET 2027 |
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