For the first time in 11 years, ESA is looking for new astronauts. These recruits will work alongside ESA’s existing astronauts as Europe enters a new era of space exploration. The recruiting campaign is open to Romanians, who should follow the regsitration process from the ESA website.

Media representatives are invited to a virtual press event on Tuesday, 16 February, to learn more about the vacancies that are intended to initiate a real generational change for ESA.

The starting point for this is 31 March 2021, when the vacancies for new astronauts open. ESA is strongly encouraging women to apply, because we are seeking to expand gender diversity in our ranks.

The vacancy runs from 31 March to 28 May 2021 and ESA will only consider applications submitted to the ESA Career website within those eight weeks. After that, the six-stage selection process will start, which is expected to be completed in October 2022.

The press event on 16 February marks the start of the communication campaign for the application phase.

The press conference in English will take place on Tuesday 16 February, 13:00–14:00 CET (14:00-15:00 Romanian time), with the participation of Jan Wörner, ESA Director General. Press conferences in a few other European languages will also be organised.

The press conference will take place online. Journalists can register online at this address by 15 February 2021.

The press conference will be streamed at esawebtv.esa.int, but only registered media will be able to ask questions.

For more details, please visit this link.

Image credit: ESA/NASA