Astronauts must be enviable to support the hard conditions in space: in the International Space Station (ISS), the lack of gravity atrophy the muscles and bones, the organs suffer, at the level Cell is shown that the body changes … Therefore, until recently, the possibility that someone with some type of disability could aspire to this work had not been raised. However, the European Space Agency (ESA), planted in its last selection the spill to be able to reverse this situation: what if it was possible?
Among the reserve candidates, John McFall was chosen, a 43 -year -old British surgeon and Paralympic exatleta who had lost a leg in a motorcycle accident at age 19. His physical form was more than demonstrated; But could anyone with a prosthesis work and live like the rest of the astronauts in the ISS for six months?
Under this premise, ESA got to work since in 2022 selected McFall along with the Spaniards Pablo Álvarez (career astronaut in that who is waiting for him to be assigned a mission soon) and Sara García (astronaut in the reserve but that He has just completed the training in Colonia). After arduous analysis, reports and practices, the agency approved a few months ago the viability that a person of the MCFall characteristics can rise to the ISS and has just received medical authorization for a long -term mission (6 months), for the that the British will be assigned soon to one of the trips to the orbital laboratory.
“This is much larger than me: it is a cultural change,” McFall said in an online press conference in which he has claimed to feel “greatly proud” for having overcome something as traumatic as his accident, after which he had to learn Again to walk.
Next steps
Although there is still no date for launch, McFall is already considered the first parastronaut in history. “Now he is an astronaut like everyone else who wants to fly to the space station, waiting for a mission,” said the director of human and robotic exploration of ESA, Daniel Neuenschwander.
The announcement of ESA arrives at a time when initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have been attacked by the new US administration of Donald Trump, and laboratories such as Vera Rubin have had to make changes in their websites for Do not emphasize these values. “Now we are entering a world that is changing a bit from a perspective of the one of our ISS partners,” said Neuenschwander. “We will continue with our European values,” he emphasized, adding that all the ISS members, which include the United States, had given McFall medical authorization.
The following phase of the viability study will analyze part of the necessary hardware, including prostheses, so that McFall can better overcome any additional challenge in space.
#John #McFall #parastronaut #space #larger #cultural #change
