It surpassed 22,500 aspiring astronauts, applicants from all over Europe. She has gone through six stages of very tough tests. And at the end was selected by the European Space Agency. She is one of 17 astronauts (5 career, 11 reserve members and 1 disabled astronaut): the new promises of space. Reserve member, she is the only Italian woman.
She is Anthea Comellini, born in 1992, comes from Chiari, a small town in the province of Brescia. A former orienteering athlete, she is one of the astronauts who will form the “class of 2022”.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher called them “very talented people”. A class that it will participate in important missions such as those of returning to the Moon.
“The Moon is only four days away (Mars is six months away) – says Anthea -. And it is an essential test bed for the technologies that will allow us to bring man to Mars”.
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More than the dream of becoming an astronaut, Anthea has always had one of finding her place in the world. She graduated in space engineering at the Politecnico di Milano. She double degree with the French Grande école of engineering in Toulouse, master at the University of Paris-Saclay. Very high marks. Praise. She speaks good English and French, she has basic Russian skills. Today you work as a R&D engineer in GNC (Guidance, Navigation and Control) at Thales Alenia Space in Cannes. He is working on technologies for robotic missions, but one day these technologies could be applied to manned spaceflight. If you ask her who Anthea is, she answers: an engineer. “Being an engineer is the thing that defines me more than anything else. It’s the thing I’ve worked hard for.”
Many people in Italy are betting on her, like the new Cristoforetti. “But the astronaut corps, I want to clarify, is European.” The tender you participated in was a unique opportunity. She had been waiting for a long time. The last competition was held in 2009, when the Italians Samantha Cristoforetti and Luca Parmitano entered the ESA astronaut corps. With Anthea, among the magnificent 17, there is today also another Italian: Andrea Patassa.
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Probably in the late 20’s, Anthea will go into space. “I remember that as a child I used to say: ‘when I grow up I want to be an astronaut’, but in life what really inspired me then are the people who work in scientific research and are committed to something that is not an end in itself. I chose space, not only because I like it, but for its positive implications on society. We go into orbit to observe the earth, to get to know it better. To monitor climate change, to study how the terrestrial ecosystem evolves, to allow remote assistance to remote areas. Thanks to satellite observation, telecommunications and navigation systems, we are able to intervene during earthquakes or other crises”.
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Always a passion for high performance aircraft, Anthea has a flight licence. An aerospace engineer boyfriend. Parents who do not work in science. “They raised me completely free to choose my own path.” What made the difference for her is a sport: theorienteering. Little practiced in Italy, it was love at first sight for Anthea and lived intensely for over 10 years. Orienteering rewards those who can confidently explore unfamiliar territory.
“It’s a timed race in the woods: in your hand you have a compass and a map with checkpoints to reach in the shortest possible time. It’s a sport that reflects my way of experiencing competition. A race with myself. It made me taught to do two activities well at the same time. You have to run and read the map and at the same time plan the choices that will come later. Teaches you to plan “.
What is the talent you recognize most?
He thinks about it, says: “I’m looking for the help of the public”, and then adds: “The tenacity. The desire to always give my best on every occasion”. Between school and sport at a certain point Anthea chooses school. “I wanted to excel and make the most of what I had received as a gift from life”.
And the biggest difficulty that has come up to here? She stops and then gives you an unusual answer. “The long-lasting lack of a sense of fulfillment. There have been restless years, where I invested time and energy and kept asking myself: Am I making the right choice? Where is it leading me?
“Being selected as an astronaut is a bit of a lottery. It’s not enough to prepare, there are things you can’t control, like your medical status. And so you can’t direct your whole life to try to become an astronaut, because it’s a gamble which hardly pays”.
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Then what did you do? “I tried to understand what I loved to do and I worked to find my place in the world. And even before the selection I had found that place. At 29 I had already begun to feel that sensation that the effort, the commitment, all the bricks that I had stacked there on top of each other, had brought me here. To work for the space. And I really understood that everything you do comes back to you at some point”.
The day Anthea read about the ESA competition she thought: now is the right time. And 22,500 other candidates did it with her. “The tests lasted more than a year. During the first screening, we passed less than 1,400 people. We had to pass psychometric tests. Tests of memory, speed of perception, hand-eye coordination, ability to multitask. New selection: approx. 400. At this point we were invited to a day of assessment center, at ESA’s Astronaut Training Center in Cologne, Germany. Personality assessment tests, more focused on soft skills. From 400 to a hundred: in this phase we were subjected to medical and physical tests. This is a stage of selection where the candidate has less control. At that point there were about 50 of us left for a classic job interview with ESA personnel. Goal: Evaluate your motivation. From here we were picked out of less than 30 and had a final interview with the general manager. We all knew each other by now. 17 of us were selected. The announcement was made during the Ministeriale, a conference in Paris, held every three years, in which ESA and the member states decide on new programmes”.
“I am a member of the reserve. It is the first time that ESA has set up such a body. And it does so to prepare for the future. Space will be ever closer. I feel ready to take the full package. Charges and honours. My message goes to the younger generations. I’ve learned that there are no areas in which we girls cannot excel. We can do anything, if passion drives us. To innovators: I work in research and development and I know that the Innovation isn’t always easy. But it’s what has allowed us to progress. It’s a marathon, more than a 100m race, that’s worth running. And finally, to those who are already ‘using’ space: let’s treat it in a sustainable. Without making the mistakes we made on Earth.” 31 years old, hat.
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