ESA Explores

Meet Aleš Svoboda— A skilled pilot with over 1500 flight hours, Aleš holds a PhD in aircraft and rocket technology and has commanded Quick Reaction Alerts. From flying high to training underwater, he…

Meet Amelie Schoenenwald— biotechnologist, business expert, and PhD in structural biology. Whether in the lab or the great outdoors, she thrives in extreme environments, ready to embrace the adventur…

Meet Arnaud Prost—aerospace engineer, professional diver, and member of ESA’s Astronaut Reserve. From flying aircraft to getting a taste of spacewalk simulation, his passion for exploration knows no …

Meet Andrea Patassa—test pilot, aviator, passionate outdoor adventurer, and Member of ESA’s Astronaut Reserve. 

In this miniseries, we take you on a journey through the ESA Astronaut Reserve, diving …

Meet Sara García Alonso — biotechnologist, cancer researcher, passionate science communicator and member of ESA’s Astronaut Reserve.

She’s our first guest in this miniseries, where we dive into the j…

Swiss round: Get ready for an inspiring episode as we bring together Marco Sieber, from ESA’s newest astronaut class, and Claude Nicollier, a pioneer from ESA’s first astronaut group in 1978. Both fr…

Join us with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer as we explore LUNA – our state-of-the-art Moon analogue facility located next to the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. A joint project between …

Sławosz is an ESA project astronaut currently preparing for a future mission to the International Space Station at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Germany. We spoke to him about his training, a fi…

John McFall, a member of the European astronaut reserve from the ESA astronaut class of 2022, brings a diverse background to his role. With experience as an orthopaedic and trauma surgeon and a forme…

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst, an experienced spaceflyer, spacewalker, and former ISS commander, shares insights into his role as head of astronaut operations at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre. Tune…

Katherine Bennell-Pegg from the Australian Space Agency joined ESA’s astronaut candidates from the class of 2022 for basic training through a cooperation agreement with ESA. Tune in as she shares her…

Sophie Adenot is one of ESA's five astronaut candidates currently undergoing basic astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. Tune in as she shares her experiences in as…

Pablo Álvarez Fernández, one of ESA's five astronaut candidates currently undergoing basic astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, shares his experiences in astronaut…

Rosemary Coogan, one of ESA’s five astronaut candidates currently undergoing basic astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, shares her journey from studying the stars …

Marco Sieber is one of ESA’s five astronaut candidates currently undergoing basic astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne. Join us as we speak to Marco about his first mo…

Raphaël Liégeois is one of ESA’s five astronaut candidates currently undergoing basic astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne. Join us as we speak to Raphaël about his fi…

ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt will soon be launched to the International Space Station for his first spaceflight mission. Marcus is the first member of ESA’s astronaut class of 2022 to fly into …

Welcome to a special bonus episode of our Time and Space series on the ESA Explores podcast! Join us in commemorating the 40th anniversary of Spacelab's maiden flight, a pivotal moment in European sp…

ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer will soon be launched to the International Space Station for a six-month stay in orbit. In this podcast, he talks about his training, the differences he's found between …