'An exciting time': European Space Agency takes diversity to space - The Guardian

Helen Sharman, the UK’s first astronaut, has welcomed the European Space Agency’s decision to improve diversity among crew as an “exciting time for human space flight expansion”.

Esa announced earlier this week that as part of its bid to recruit up to 26 new astronauts it was casting its net wider than ever and that diversity – across gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs and physical disability – will be at the heart of its recruitment efforts.

She joins other leading European astronauts, including Tim Peake, from the UK, and the Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, in praising Esa’s latest astronaut recruitment drive and the agency’s focus on improving diversity.

In the 1950s, when Nasa first contemplated sending humans into space, their initial call for astronauts looked for men shorter than 5ft 11in (180cm) who had engaged in dangerous and physical activities, such as scuba diving and mountaineering.

In October 2020, the toilets on board the International Space Station were replaced with a new design that works better for women, as well as men.

And so [sending an individual with a physical disability into space] becomes a question of technology.”.

Esa’s ultimate aim is that an astronaut with a physical disability could eventually fly to the International Space Station.

Sharman said she expects that as human space flight becomes more commercial, going to space will become more accessible as people work for companies that carry out tasks in space.

It is an exciting time for human space flight expansion,” she said