Back to the classroom for the new European astronauts

You are not the only ones going back to school this month! ESA's new astronaut recruits reported this week to the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. The six have started the first days of their 18-month basic training in preparation for future missions to the International Space Station and beyond.

The new astronauts are:

• Samantha Cristoforetti, from Milan, Italy.
• Alexander Gerst, from Künzelsau, Germany.
• Andreas Mogensen, from Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Luca Parmitano, from Paternò, Italy.
• Timothy Peake, from Chichester, UK.
• Thomas Pesquet, from Rouen, France.

'I am very happy that our new colleagues reported to EAC in Cologne to start their training' said Simonetta Di Pippo, ESA’s Director of Human Spaceflight. 'We are already flying an average of two ESA astronauts every year to the ISS'.

Basic training for the European astronauts will mainly take place at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC), where they will follow a training programme developed according to international rules agreed between the International Space Station (ISS) partners.

Classroom lessons will introduce them to ESA, followed by important lessons such as electrical engineering, before learning about space systems and operations in more detail. Other lessons will prepare the astronauts with special skills necessary for their future, such as learning Russian, Scuba diving for spacewalk practice and survival training.