How to become an astronaut?

Agencies are not looking for a single type of candidate. ESA requires a university degree at master's level at minimum in natural sciences, medicine, engineering, mathematics or computer science, combined with significant professional experience or a doctorate; a test pilot qualification is a recognized alternative path. Fluency in English is essential, and knowledge of another language is valued in an environment where crews work with Russian, American, Japanese or Canadian colleagues.

Added to this are demanding medical criteria — vision, blood pressure, absence of conditions incompatible with weightlessness — and an extensive psychological assessment: emotional stability, ability to work in a confined team, tolerance for stress and close quarters over months.

Recruitment campaigns are rare and heavily contested. The one launched by ESA in 2021 drew more than 22,500 applications for 17 people selected in November 2022, split between career astronauts and reserve astronauts. The process spans more than a year: file screening, psychometric and cognitive tests, practical trials, panel interviews, a full medical assessment, then a final interview.

This campaign also opened an unprecedented path, that of an astronaut with a physical disability, intended to study the adaptations needed for crewed flight.

Being chosen is only the beginning. Basic training lasts about a year and covers station systems, robotics, survival, scuba diving to simulate spacewalks, and languages. Advanced training follows, then training specific to a given mission. Several years can pass between selection and the first flight, and some selected candidates wait a long time for an assignment. In France, there is no separate national pathway: the route goes through ESA's campaigns.