The UK’s newest astronaut has begun training for future space missions.

Rosemary Coogan, a Northern Irish astrophysicist, was selected to join the European Space Agency’s (ESA) training programme last year.

The 32-year-old has joined four colleagues, who were selected from more than 22,500 applicants, at the agency’s astronaut centre in Cologne, Germany, to start one year of basic preparation.

Joining her are Sophie Adenot of France, Spain‘s Pablo Alvarez Fernandez, Belgian–Luxembourgish engineer Raphael Liegeois and Marco Sieber from Switzerland.

Frank De Winne, head of the European Astronaut Centre, said they had already shown “the skills and dedication to succeed as ESA astronauts”.

“We look forward to supporting them every step of the way as they embark on this exciting journey of preparing for future space missions,” he added.

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What does the training involve?

Europe’s latest batch of astronauts will be trained to International Space Station standards, so they can go on missions there and back.

Their first year of training includes scuba diving to prepare for spacewalks, strenuous fitness assessments, and university-style scientific seminars.

Once basic training is done in spring 2024, the candidates will become certified astronauts and ready to embark on pre-assignment training.

Another phase of training follows once they are selected for a specific mission.

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‘A real privilege’

Ms Coogan is only the UK’s third ever astronaut and part of the first new batch of ESA candidates since 2009.

Before her were Helen Sharman, who became the first Briton in space in 1989, and Tim Peake, who performed a historic spacewalk 27 years later.

Ms Coogan said last year: “It was a real privilege to get the call – I was incredibly excited.

“So many people applied, and I feel extremely lucky to be in this position and really want to make the most of this opportunity to learn as much as I can and give as much as I can.”

Ms Coogan has two master’s degrees from Durham University and an astronomy doctorate from Sussex.

Also named in the ESA’s latest cohort was ex-British Paralympian John McFall, as part of a programme to test the feasibility of people with a disability working in space.

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