Meet the world's first "para-astronaut" - a person with a physical disability selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to participate in a new astronaut training course, and aspire to also take off outside the Earth's atmosphere on the first accessible space mission.
Preparations for launching into space, archive, photo: I.P
British John McFall (41) is a former Paralympic athlete, whose leg was amputated at the age of 19 after being involved in a motorcycle accident.
McFall, a surgeon by profession and a father of three, competed in the Paralympic Games held in Beijing in 2008 and won a bronze medal in the 100 meters.
During his impressive sports career, he was known as one of the fastest men in the world whose leg was amputated above the knee in the 100 and 200 meter races, and now, as mentioned, he aims to conquer another exciting peak as the first para-astronaut.
McPhail with other candidates for space flight, photo: Reuters
The new astronaut "class" of the European Space Agency has 17 participants, out of 22,500 people who submitted their applications.
McFall, as mentioned, is the only one of the 17 who is disabled.
The basic training course is expected to start in the spring of 2023 in the city of Cologne, Germany, where the potential astronauts will learn subjects such as space technology, science and medicine - and then they will specialize in operating the space station itself.
Control center in England, photo: GettyImages
Although it is not at all certain that McPhail will pass the course successfully and will indeed be allowed to fly into space, it is definitely a step in the right direction - both personally and in the willingness of space agencies to integrate astronauts with disabilities into missions.
ESA promises that they will do their best to include a person with a disability on future space missions, and if McPhail (or any other para-astronaut) does participate in such a mission, it will require the agency to make special adjustments regarding the spacecraft itself, the space suit, and how astronauts with disabilities Disability operates in zero gravity.
Good luck and good luck.
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