3 ms·

I'm not sure about the others, but the Swedish guy was "selected" from lots of different people, so just saying that "they're paying their way" seems slightly r

by diggan 3y ago

I'm not sure about the others, but the Swedish guy was "selected" from lots of different people, so just saying that "they're paying their way" seems slightly reductive: > He was selected in November 2022 from over 22,500 applicants to join a new European astronaut group of 17 lucky recipients. https://www.rymdstyrelsen.se/upptack-rymden/bloggen/2024/01/marcus-wandt/ https://www.rymdstyrelsen.se/upptack-rymden/bloggen/2024/01/... That page has lots of useful information about the project itself (although in Swedish, may DeepL et al help you), like: > One of the two Swedish projects involves stem cell research and is led by Elena Kozlova, Professor of Regenerative Neurobiology at Uppsala University. Stem cells have previously been sent into space by sounding rockets and exposed to a few minutes of microgravity, showing that stem cells have a greater capacity to divide and develop into mature cells than they do under normal conditions on Earth. Now Marcus Wandt is taking stem cells into space for two weeks. > In the project, Orbital Architecture, researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology want to investigate how people's physical and mental health is affected by staying in confined spaces for long periods of time. The researchers will analyze Marcus Wandt's stress, cognitive performance, heart activity and movements and compare data collected from different parts of the space station to understand how the design of space environments affects the astronauts' thinking and stress levels.

DylanSp 3y ago
To elaborate, the Swedish astronaut, Marcus Wandt, is part of ESA's "reserve astronaut" pool; the ESA press release [1] mentions that this "is composed of astronaut candidates who were successful throughout the entire selection process but cannot be recruited at this point in time." [1] https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/ESA_presents_new_generation_of_astronauts https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Ex...
- TMWNN 3y ago
  ESA announced Wandt's selection in November 2022. Now he's in orbit, less than 15 months later! This is the fastest time between selection and orbit in history that I know of. No doubt there are full-time ESA astronauts announced with Wandt who are now dumbfounded that a backup is flying before them, not to mention those in earlier batches. This sort of thing has happened in the US, too. When NASA began flying payload specialists <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payload_specialist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payload_specialist> on the shuttle, that program included people who had been turned down by the NASA astronaut program, like Charles Walker and Byron Lichtenberg. They got to fly before many who had been selected in the same intakes they themselves had been rejected from! Walker flew three times (!) in fifteen months, and Lichtenberg flew twice. (Walker was selected for his first shuttle flight in May 1983 and the first attempt to launch was in June 1984, so he would have been the record holder had that happened; he went up in August.)
  - Tepix 3y ago
    He gets to stay for 2 weeks, they get to stay for 6 months
- jacquesm 3y ago
  Looking forward to a time when there will be an astronaut shortage.

by diggan 3y ago

DylanSp 3y ago

To elaborate, the Swedish astronaut, Marcus Wandt, is part of ESA's "reserve astronaut" pool; the ESA press release [1] mentions that this "is composed of astronaut candidates who were successful throughout the entire selection process but cannot be recruited at this point in time." [1] https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/ESA_presents_new_generation_of_astronauts https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Ex...

TMWNN 3y ago
ESA announced Wandt's selection in November 2022. Now he's in orbit, less than 15 months later! This is the fastest time between selection and orbit in history that I know of. No doubt there are full-time ESA astronauts announced with Wandt who are now dumbfounded that a backup is flying before them, not to mention those in earlier batches. This sort of thing has happened in the US, too. When NASA began flying payload specialists <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payload_specialist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payload_specialist> on the shuttle, that program included people who had been turned down by the NASA astronaut program, like Charles Walker and Byron Lichtenberg. They got to fly before many who had been selected in the same intakes they themselves had been rejected from! Walker flew three times (!) in fifteen months, and Lichtenberg flew twice. (Walker was selected for his first shuttle flight in May 1983 and the first attempt to launch was in June 1984, so he would have been the record holder had that happened; he went up in August.)
- Tepix 3y ago
  He gets to stay for 2 weeks, they get to stay for 6 months
jacquesm 3y ago
Looking forward to a time when there will be an astronaut shortage.