The window to apply for ESA’s astronaut vacancy opened on 31 March 2021 and closed 18 June. This is the first call for new astronauts in over 10 years and the first-time candidates with a physical disability had been invited to apply. Of the 22,523 valid astronaut applications received by ESA, 2,000 of these were from the UK. Following a comprehensive screening phase, 1,361 people were invited to phase two of ESA’s astronaut selection. This is a full day of psychological performance testing at a facility in Europe. Of these, 166 were from the UK, comprising 89 men and 77 women. The UK had the …