ESA to hire First Disabled Astronaut

Why in news ?

European Space Agency is set to hire and launch world’s first physically disabled astronaut.

Key points

It is going to be 22-member space programme for which decennial recruitment call for astronauts.  It received 22,000 applicants. Space mission will ESA’s 7-billion-euro budget mission and is a third of NASA’s. Seven or eight launches in a year are dwarfed by 40 launches by United States.

How Space Missions are evolving?

Space is developing fast. Different space agencies are refashioning their outlining plans to refresh space missions.  Founder of Amazon, Bezos hopes, will become the first man to go into space on his own rocket in July 2021. This highlights the role that tech billionaires are playing in space field which was once dominated by public agencies.

European Space Agency (ESA)

ESA is an intergovernmental organization comprising of 22 member states. The agency, established in 1975, is dedicated to exploration of space. It is headquartered in Paris. Its space flight programme includes human spaceflight, launch & operation of unmanned exploration missions to other planets & Moon, Earth observation, science & telecommunication etc.