You may soon be flying to the International Space Station ISS. After a month of training, the European Space Agency ESA presented the five selected astronauts of the newest year. Among them Marco Sieber, after Claude Nicollier only the second astronaut in Switzerland. We spoke to him at the training center in Cologne.
This content was published on May 04, 2023
Köln
Marco Sieber from Kirchberg, Canton Bern, is a doctor and only the second Swiss to be admitted to the prestigious ESA training program. The two prospective astronauts in his course will most likely fly to the International Space Station (ISS) in a few years, not together.
SWI swissinfo.ch: How did the first month of training go? Have you already experienced some anecdotes?
Marco Sieber: It has been a very exciting time so far. The training has started. We already had a lot of interesting lessons and sports. But there is no anecdote yet.
Of the 22,500 applicants, five are now in training. How did you prepare for the application?
The most important thing was the letter of application, it had to be perfect. I spent a lot of time writing my resume. I also asked people for help to read through this.
Then came the first step: the computer-based tests. You could practice with a computer program, which of course I did extensively.
And for the interviews and the psychological evaluation, we got together with other candidates in groups, practiced and simulated it. There was a lot of preparation behind it.
Astronauts need to remain calm even in stressful situations. As a doctor, are you predestined for this?
I’ve certainly experienced some stressful moments in my life where you had to make good decisions under pressure. But that’s also a very big thing that’s coming my way.
But we also have great support from Switzerland, from the Swiss Space Office, from the State Secretariat for Education and Research.
But we also get good support from all sides from within ESA. And I think that’s how it’s made easy.
They parachute, they dive, they fly planes. Are you comfortable in all the elements?
It always comes down to preparation. If I’m thrown into a situation without preparation, it can happen that I don’t feel so comfortable.
But if you approach things systematically and train well for it, you can eventually feel comfortable in all sorts of situations.
Does that make you predestined to be an astronaut?
That’s what ESA decided, and I’m very glad they chose me. So I also hope that this decision was the right one. And I will certainly do my best to meet that.
In films, astronauts are often seen in a centrifuge, where they are subjected to a great deal of physical stress. Is there one in Cologne too?
I think the very centrifuge that you see in most films doesn’t exist here. We certainly have some physiological training here as well. But the centrifuge would probably have to be visited in the USA.
Would you stand such a burden?
Many people have passed this before me. I think it’s also something that’s a bit trainable. I can’t say how one reacts to it in the end. But I hope it will be possible.
Billions are invested in space research. A lot of people don’t understand that. How do you justify that?
Whenever a lot of money is invested, there is of course criticism. And it’s good that people can’t just decide over the heads of others.
I think the money that’s being spent on space isn’t being spent, it’s being invested. For every euro invested in space travel in Europe, two to three euros are returned. In the form of contracts for industry, jobs, new technologies, etc.
Humans are also made to explore their environment. The north and south poles as well as the seas and the highest mountains of the earth have been explored. And I think the next thing is space. There are many questions that are still open.
What is your dream in space? Where would you go?
Our class will definitely go to the ISS first. The goal is for everyone to fly there at some point. And of course that’s a dream of mine.
But it is not yet clear, a lot can still happen. But that would be the first goal. And I think, depending on that, it may well be that maybe one of us can fly to the moon. Of course that would be great.
How do you see your role in a crew?
So far we have a very good relationship with each other. We are here for each other. It’s a fun and motivated group. So far, the roles have not been distributed in this way.
I don’t think it’s going to be this Basic Training team that’s going to fly to the space station together. You will fly with other astronauts. That’s where the distribution of roles comes in.
Having a doctor on board is always an advantage…
Especially for longer missions that are further away, it is of course helpful if you have medical experience. But I don’t think that the selection is now based on the fact that a doctor absolutely has to be present everywhere. That wouldn’t even be possible.
But of course it’s an advantage if you can be there as a doctor. Maybe it also helps in the selection for a possible mission.
After Claude Nicollier, you are only the second Swiss astronaut. They already know each other. How did that happen?
He was already an idol in my childhood. During the selection I contacted him by e-mail and he answered me very kindly. He offered me that we could talk on the phone if I passed the first step.
After that we stayed in touch and he really took care of me, helped me a bit with the preparation.
And when it was clear that I had made it, I was allowed to meet him. It was a very nice moment for me.
Finally, one more question we let ChatGPT ask you. The artificial intelligence wants to know what you think of private space travel.
There are two sides to how you look at private space travel. On the one hand, it is nice when as many people as possible can see the earth from above. There is this overview effect when people have an overview of the whole world, it seems to change thinking a bit.
And I hope that if rich and important people also experience this effect, then maybe something could change in their actions. That would definitely be a good effect.
The disadvantage, of course, is the ecological aspect behind it. You definitely have to find a way to make space tourism sustainable and ecological.
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