The European Space Agency (ESA) is working to make history once more. The viability study ‘Fly!‘, who had to investigate the possibility of sending a disabled person to space, concluded last fall, giving John McFall green light, the first astronaut without a leg. And now, as this space agency has announced, the Medical Committee of the International Space Station (EEI) has also been approved, which certifies the European astronaut with the highest level of flight authorization.
The project began in 2020, with a preliminary survey in which the less susceptible types of disability were identified to be incompatible with the current requirements to participate in missions in the US. In 2021, it was decided that low stature, legs of different length and the lack of a lower limb do not involve limitations for astronauts, so that it officially initiated the search for a candidate to carry out the study.
The ideal candidate appeared in November of that year: John McFall, a surgeon with an orthopedic leg and Paralympic champion of 100 and 200 meters in the 2007 Paralympic Games. All the potentially problematic aspects of the disability of McFall were studied in an environment spatial and possible contraindications for their participation in a mission in the US. The viability study ended in 2024 without identifying any reason why McFall’s disability should prevent its recruitment in the ESA astronaut body. McFall is waiting to receive the highest level of certification, which also allows you to participate in the so -called long -term missions, that is, remain in the space station more than 30 days.
“It is a success that demonstrates how much we have learned over the years about the effects of being in the space on the human body,” said Alessandro Alcibiade, a flight surgeon of the ‘Fly!’ Program program! ‘ In a press conference. “At the beginning of the space era, only the test pilots in perfect physical form could fly. Not because it was necessary, but by caution, because we did not know what effect the microgravity could have in the human organism, which evolved in very different conditions. Now we have accumulated more and more medical knowledge, and we feel sure that we can make more and more people fly, and I think this is one of the greatest achievements of the current space program.
John McFall is ready for the mission
The British John McFall, now an astronaut, could participate at any time in an ESA mission. However, there are two other aspects that must be clarified before we can really think of organizing a launch. The first refers to the prosthesis, which, like any object that is introduced into the agency, must have a certification. However, the program team is working with the manufacturer, and the process should conclude at the end of this year.
Wired talks with the engineer Victoria de León, who achieved a milestone for Mexico by developing lunar biomaterials awarded in the International Congress of Astronautics 2024, towards the Space Station. His research, recognized among more than 1,200 presentations around the world, focuses on the development of a film composed of lunar regolito and biopolymers extracted from insects, materials that can also serve as food for astronauts and detect radiation in lunar habitats.
On the other hand, ESA launched a call for opportunities, asking universities and private companies to present research projects and experiments that could take advantage of John McFall’s characteristics to be carried out in the US. To date, 17 proposals from eight different nations have already arrived, so everything should be ready in a short time.
When will McFall leave for space? It is not yet safe: all astronauts authorized to fly compete with each other to be included in the next missions in the space station, and in this sense they cannot receive favoritism of ESA. Time is pressing, because the mission is scheduled for 2030. The European agency has assured them that the goal is to have all astronauts waiting before that date. But even if that is not possible, the moon always remains, and the new lunar portal that will be built in the coming years. The chances of seeing it leave, therefore, are extremely high. It’s just a matter of time.
Article originally published in Wired Italy. Adapted by José Carlos Oliva.
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