Paralympic athlete from UK in latest intake of ESA astronauts

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Paralympic athlete from UK in latest intake of ESA astronauts

John McFall, 41, becomes first astronaut with physical disability to be recruited by European space agency

Meganne Christian, John McFall and Rosemary Coogan at the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris, France. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

Meganne Christian, John McFall and Rosemary Coogan at the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris, France. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

Ian Sample Science editor
@iansample

Wed 23 Nov 2022 11.22 ESTLast modified on Thu 24 Nov 2022 00.09 EST

A Paralympic sprinter from the UK has been named among the latest intake of astronauts recruited by the European Space Agency.

John McFall, 41, becomes the first astronaut with a physical disability, or para-astronaut, to be recruited by the space agency in a drive to overcome the barriers that prevent disabled people from participating in space missions.

Also joining the astronaut class of 2022, the agency’s first new recruits since 2009, is Dr Rosemary Coogan, 31, who spent time in the Royal Navy reserve and gained a PhD in astronomy before working at the French Space Agency.

Coogan becomes the first UK woman to join ESA as a career astronaut and the second person from the UK to join [...]

Read article at theguardian.com

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