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The European Space Agency announced Friday that the first-ever astronaut with a physical disability has been cleared for a mission aboard the International Space Station. John McFaul, a 43-year-old British surgeon and former Paralympian who lost his leg in a motorbike accident when he was 19, said he was “incredibly proud” to have overcome the obstacle.
Since McFall was announced as a member of its astronaut pool in 2022, the European Space Agency (ESA) has been evaluating the feasibility of a person with a prosthetic limb becoming a crew member on a space mission. On Friday, the ESA announced that McFall had been medically cleared for a long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). McFall stressed that he was “relatively passive” in the process, and simply needed to be in good health and perform the necessary tasks.
"This is much more than me — it's a cultural shift," he said in an online press conference.
There is no date yet for when McFaul will get the chance to become what ESA has dubbed the first "paraastronaut."
"He is now an astronaut, like everyone else, who wants to fly to the space station, waiting to be assigned to a mission," said ESA's Director of Human and Robotic Research Daniel Neuenschwander.
The ESA announcement comes at a time when diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have come under fire from the new US administration of Donald Trump.
“We are now entering a world that is changing somewhat from a DEI perspective from one of our International Space Station partners,” Neuenschwander said.
"We will continue to adhere to our European values," he stressed, adding that all ISS partners, including the United States, had given McFaul medical clearance.
The next stage of the feasibility study will look at some of the necessary equipment, including prosthetics, so that McFaul can best address any additional challenges in space. McFaul said the technology they are working on is “spreadable and will have benefits for prosthetic users in society.”
