Switzerland once again has a full-fledged astronaut. Bernese Marco Sieber was officially admitted to the astronaut corps of the European Space Agency (ESA) on Monday, at the end of his basic training in Cologne, Germany.
“As I find myself at the dawn of a new chapter in my life, I am humbled by the challenges and successes of basic astronaut training,” said Marco Sieber in a press release from the ESA.
“I am ready to participate in the collective effort to explore our Universe for the benefit of life on Earth and future generations, as well as to contribute to Switzerland’s participation in the emergence, consolidation and the expansion of European space cooperation,” he adds.
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Marco Sieber shows his training class badge during the closing ceremony of ESA’s Astronaut Basic Training, Monday, April 22, 2024 at the ESA Astronaut Center in Cologne, Germany. [Keystone]
The 35-year-old Bernese received his diploma after a year of basic training at the ESA Astronaut Center in Cologne: “Becoming an astronaut has always been a dream of mine, but not truly a realistic dream,” he said after receiving the paper. When he learned that this possibility existed, he devoted himself entirely to it. Originally from Kirchberg, in the canton of Bern, he was selected with four other people, among 22,500 candidates, for the astronaut training course.
“This is a historic moment for Europe in space,” said ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher during the certification ceremony for the new astronauts. Marco Sieber is only the second Switzerland has ever had after Claude Nicollier: the astrophysicist and military pilot had made four flights aboard the American space shuttle, the last in 1999. He notably helped with the repair of the telescope Hubble spacecraft.
During their training, astronauts first had to study theory. “The goal was to acquire basic knowledge in biology, medicine, physics and technology,” explained Marco Sieber. A photography course was also part of the curriculum. They also had diving lessons to learn how to move outside the space station, for example for repair work. Physical training was also on the program at least three times a week.
Marco Sieber trained for winter survival in the snow-capped mountains of Spain’s Pyrenees as part of his basic astronaut training. In addition to aquatic survival training, winter survival is an important part of the training, as it helps deal with the possibility of the spacecraft landing in remote or unexpected locations. Astronauts also learn how to make fires in the wild, effectively manage cold-related injuries and hypothermia, construct makeshift stretchers, build snow shelters, and spend nights in subzero temperatures. . [ESA – Trailhaven]
Learning Russian
The apprentice astronauts also learned Russian, an essential language for work in the Russian part of the ISS and for exchanges with their colleagues.
Training manager and astronaut Alexander Gerst named the new class of astronauts “Hoppers”, or kangaroo or grasshopper. “Going into space is a serious thing, you have to have time to have a little fun,” he said during the ceremony.
The name “Hoppers” was chosen in particular in reference to Australian astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, who followed basic training with European astronauts. But also because the apprentices went back and forth between the training room and the offices several times a day.
L’ISS pour destination
Between 2026 and 2030, these astronauts from Europe will leave on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) to carry out scientific experiments, we learned during the ceremony.
In addition to Marco Sieber, the new ESA graduates are Sophie Adenot (France), Pablo Álvarez Fernández (Spain), Rosemary Coogan (United Kingdom), Raphaël Liégeois (Belgium). The latter also has a connection to Switzerland: he worked as a neuroscientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and the University of Geneva.
With the completion of the training of these astronauts, the ESA corps now includes eleven people from eight countries.
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