FILE - In this July 5, 2001 file photo, French astronaut Claudie Haignere, right, and her Russian crewmates Viktor Afanasyev, center, and Konstantin Kozeyev train inside the mock-up of a Soyuz TM spacecraft in Star City. The ESA, NASA's European equivalent, is highlighting diversity in the drive: The final frontier for such predominantly white and male agencies. This year the ESA is looking to recruit more women astronauts, as well as people with disabilities who always dreamed of going into space.(AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, File)
The Associated Press
PARIS (AP) - Are you calm under pressure and in zero gravity, open to extra-terrestrial travel and female? If so, you could be a prime candidate for the European Space Agency's first astronaut recruitment drive in 11 years.
The ESA, NASA's European equivalent, is highlighting diversity this time to nudge the agency beyond its primarily white and male roots.
This year, the ESA is looking not only to recruit more women astronauts, but also people with disabilities who have always dreamed of going into space.
'œWe are looking towards the Moon... and Mars. We need very excellent astronauts for the future,'ť said the ESA's Director General Jan Worner. 'œTo go farther than we ever have before, we need to look wider than we ever have before.'ť
Only 65 of the 560 people who have ever gone into space have been women. Of those 65 women, 51 were American. The ESA has sent only two women into space - Claudie Haigneré and Samantha Cristoforetti - and is now trying to redress the imbalance.
The ESA says the 'œtime has come'ť to put disabled people into space as part of an initiative called the Parastronaut Feasibility Project. According to the ESA, it's the first time that a space agency anywhere has opened the application process up to people with disabilities.
'œRepresenting all parts of our society is a concern that we take very seriously,'ť said David Parker, the agency's Human and Robotic Exploration Director, 'œDiversity at ESA should not only address the origin, age, background or gender of our astronauts, but also perhaps physical disabilities.'ť
British astronaut Tim Peake welcomed the approach, saying it 'œwill hopefully change the landscape'ť so that people from diverse backgrounds 'œwill see that actually there is an opportunity here to become part of Europe's new space pioneers.'ť
The other requirement for the job? Patience. The application process agency officials say will take some 18 months, before the 'œhandful'ť of successful astronauts will be chosen.
FILE - In this Oct.11, 2001 file photo, French astronaut Claudie Haignere, left, speaks to the media as her Russian crewmate Viktor Afanasyev looks on in Star City, Russia. The ESA, NASA's European equivalent, is highlighting diversity in the drive: The final frontier for such predominantly white and male agencies. This year the ESA is looking to recruit more women astronauts, as well as people with disabilities who always dreamed of going into space. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this June 11, 2015 file photo, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti speaks by satellite phone outside of the Soyuz TMA-15M space capsule after she and U.S. astronaut Terry Virts and Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov landed in a remote area outside the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. The ESA, NASA's European equivalent, is highlighting diversity in the drive: The final frontier for such predominantly white and male agencies. This year the ESA is looking to recruit more women astronauts, as well as people with disabilities who always dreamed of going into space.(AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, Pool, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Nov.23, 2014 file photo, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, crew member of the mission to the International Space Station, ISS, speaks with her relatives prior to the launch of Soyuz-FG rocket at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The ESA, NASA's European equivalent, is highlighting diversity in the drive: The final frontier for such predominantly white and male agencies. This year the ESA is looking to recruit more women astronauts, as well as people with disabilities who always dreamed of going into space. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, Pool, File)
The Associated Press