{"id":63813,"date":"2024-09-12T07:58:43","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T07:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/373c23d3-379c-4b75-8335-d7fa1c8c287b"},"modified":"2024-09-12T09:40:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T09:40:50","slug":"its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It\u2019s looking very positive.’ Meet John McFall, the UK parastronaut hoping to make spaceflight open to everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Ezzy Pearson\n <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 12 September 2024 at 07:58 AM<\/p>

\n\n

UK astronaut John McFall of the European Space Agency is a former paralympian on a mission to help open up spaceflight to people with disabilities.<\/p>

It feels like within our lifetimes, spaceflight will become even more commonplace, and that relatively soon citizens will be regularly taking flights into Earth orbit.<\/p>

But what opportunities are there for people with physical disabilities who want to venture into space?<\/p>

We got the chance to speak to para-astronaut John McFall, one of the many ESA 2022 astronaut candidates<\/a>, about his work investigating how disabled astronauts like him could fly in space.<\/p>

Read our interview with UK ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Credit: ESA<\/figcaption><\/figure>
**What are you currently up to?<\/strong><\/h2>**I officially started with the European Space Agency in June 2023 to begin the Fly! Feasibility Study<\/a>, which is looking at the requirements for someone like myself [a lower-limb amputee] to fly on a long-duration mission to space.<\/p>
We\u2019re investigating how my disability and my prosthesis might impact the requirements to fly in space, how we make up any differences and what alterations or mitigations might be needed.<\/p>
$\"ESA$
ESA Astronaut Reserve member John McFall poses for a picture on the Airbus \u2018Zero G\u2019 aircraft with astronauts Alexander Gerst and Thomas Pesquet. Credit: ESA\/Novespace<\/figcaption><\/figure>
How do you assess what those requirements might be?<\/strong><\/h2>
We looked at all the different stages of spaceflight.<\/p>
We investigated what would be required for an astronaut to undertake basic training<\/a>: things like winter and sea survival training, centrifuge familiarisation and experiencing low-pressure environments.<\/p>
Can someone with my disability undergo basic training and interface with certain pieces of equipment?<\/p>
Then there\u2019s spacecraft operations and what would be required of an astronaut to undertake all the emergency and safety procedures on a spacecraft or the space station.<\/p>
Medical was another domain, covering things like whether I can do the exercise countermeasures required for a long-duration mission.<\/p>
We\u2019ve already determined that wearing a prosthesis in space would be a necessity for some activities \u2013 so, is fluid shift going to be a problem with regard to the volume of my stump and socket fitting?<\/p>
Finally, we looked at crew support such as clothing, supporting equipment and even quarantine facilities.<\/p>
What have you discovered?<\/strong><\/h2>
Early on, we recognised that the ability to do emergency procedures and meet safety requirements warranted assessment, but there have been no huge sticking points.<\/p>
What we found is that every astronaut\u2019s needs are relatively individual.<\/p>
We\u2019ve looked at my disability, and yes, you can extrapolate that to similar lower-limb deficiencies, but it\u2019s difficult to translate that to a broader pool of disabilities.<\/p>
You have to take each case separately, look at their requirements and go from there.\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Members$
Members of ESA\u2019s astronaut class of 2022 at NASA Johnson Space Centre (JSC) in Houston, Texas, USA. Credit: ESA\/NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>
**What\u2019s being done to make space accessible for everyone?<\/strong><\/h2>**In order to do the study, we had to make some assumptions, and one of them was that it would be a long-duration flight to the International Space Station<\/a>.<\/p>
But this is good timing for the feasibility study because all these other programmes are early in their evolution.<\/p>
Once we\u2019ve done this study \u2013 and if a few years down the line someone with a physical disability has actually flown to low-Earth orbit \u2013 we can feed that data into programmes being developed.<\/p>
From there, we could potentially consider human space exploration for people with disabilities going further than low-Earth orbit.<\/p>
What\u2019s been your favourite part so far?<\/strong><\/h2>
I loved the winter survival training because I love being in the mountains, in the cold.<\/p>
But what I\u2019ve really enjoyed is interacting with a wide range of people, bringing this study to them and seeing their reactions.<\/p>
Everybody has been so complimentary of what we are doing, both within ESA and among international partners as well.\u00a0<\/p>
$\"The$
The ESA Astronaut Class of 2022 includes 3 UK participants: Meganne Christian (L), John McFall (C), and Rosemary Coogan (R). Photo by JOEL SAGET\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Will we one day see a parastronaut fly in space?<\/strong><\/h2>
Absolutely, and I think within the next few years.<\/p>
ESA have said that they\u2019re keen to get someone with a physical disability to fly within the lifetime of the ISS, if we\u2019ve demonstrated that it\u2019s feasible.<\/p>
At this stage, it\u2019s looking very positive.<\/p>
***This interview appeared in the October 2024 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n***
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Ezzy Pearson Published: Thursday, 12 September 2024 at 07:58 AM UK astronaut John McFall of the European Space Agency is a former paralympian on a mission to help open up spaceflight to people with disabilities. It feels like within our lifetimes, spaceflight will become even more commonplace, and that relatively soon citizens will be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":63814,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone.jpg",1200,801,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone-768x513.jpg",768,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone-1024x684.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone.jpg",1200,801,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone.jpg",1200,801,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Ezzy Pearson Published: Thursday, 12 September 2024 at 07:58 AM UK astronaut John McFall of the European Space Agency is a former paralympian on a mission to help open up spaceflight to people with disabilities. It feels like within our lifetimes, spaceflight will become even more commonplace, and that relatively soon citizens will be…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/63813"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Credit: ESA<\/figcaption><\/figure>
**What are you currently up to?<\/strong><\/h2>**I officially started with the European Space Agency in June 2023 to begin the Fly! Feasibility Study<\/a>, which is looking at the requirements for someone like myself [a lower-limb amputee] to fly on a long-duration mission to space.<\/p>
We\u2019re investigating how my disability and my prosthesis might impact the requirements to fly in space, how we make up any differences and what alterations or mitigations might be needed.<\/p>
$\"ESA$
ESA Astronaut Reserve member John McFall poses for a picture on the Airbus \u2018Zero G\u2019 aircraft with astronauts Alexander Gerst and Thomas Pesquet. Credit: ESA\/Novespace<\/figcaption><\/figure>
How do you assess what those requirements might be?<\/strong><\/h2>
We looked at all the different stages of spaceflight.<\/p>
We investigated what would be required for an astronaut to undertake basic training<\/a>: things like winter and sea survival training, centrifuge familiarisation and experiencing low-pressure environments.<\/p>
Can someone with my disability undergo basic training and interface with certain pieces of equipment?<\/p>
Then there\u2019s spacecraft operations and what would be required of an astronaut to undertake all the emergency and safety procedures on a spacecraft or the space station.<\/p>
Medical was another domain, covering things like whether I can do the exercise countermeasures required for a long-duration mission.<\/p>
We\u2019ve already determined that wearing a prosthesis in space would be a necessity for some activities \u2013 so, is fluid shift going to be a problem with regard to the volume of my stump and socket fitting?<\/p>
Finally, we looked at crew support such as clothing, supporting equipment and even quarantine facilities.<\/p>
What have you discovered?<\/strong><\/h2>
Early on, we recognised that the ability to do emergency procedures and meet safety requirements warranted assessment, but there have been no huge sticking points.<\/p>
What we found is that every astronaut\u2019s needs are relatively individual.<\/p>
We\u2019ve looked at my disability, and yes, you can extrapolate that to similar lower-limb deficiencies, but it\u2019s difficult to translate that to a broader pool of disabilities.<\/p>
You have to take each case separately, look at their requirements and go from there.\u00a0<\/p>
$\"Members$
Members of ESA\u2019s astronaut class of 2022 at NASA Johnson Space Centre (JSC) in Houston, Texas, USA. Credit: ESA\/NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>
**What\u2019s being done to make space accessible for everyone?<\/strong><\/h2>**In order to do the study, we had to make some assumptions, and one of them was that it would be a long-duration flight to the International Space Station<\/a>.<\/p>
But this is good timing for the feasibility study because all these other programmes are early in their evolution.<\/p>
Once we\u2019ve done this study \u2013 and if a few years down the line someone with a physical disability has actually flown to low-Earth orbit \u2013 we can feed that data into programmes being developed.<\/p>
From there, we could potentially consider human space exploration for people with disabilities going further than low-Earth orbit.<\/p>
What\u2019s been your favourite part so far?<\/strong><\/h2>
I loved the winter survival training because I love being in the mountains, in the cold.<\/p>
But what I\u2019ve really enjoyed is interacting with a wide range of people, bringing this study to them and seeing their reactions.<\/p>
Everybody has been so complimentary of what we are doing, both within ESA and among international partners as well.\u00a0<\/p>
$\"The$
The ESA Astronaut Class of 2022 includes 3 UK participants: Meganne Christian (L), John McFall (C), and Rosemary Coogan (R). Photo by JOEL SAGET\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Will we one day see a parastronaut fly in space?<\/strong><\/h2>
Absolutely, and I think within the next few years.<\/p>
ESA have said that they\u2019re keen to get someone with a physical disability to fly within the lifetime of the ISS, if we\u2019ve demonstrated that it\u2019s feasible.<\/p>
At this stage, it\u2019s looking very positive.<\/p>
***This interview appeared in the October 2024 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n***
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By Ezzy Pearson Published: Thursday, 12 September 2024 at 07:58 AM UK astronaut John McFall of the European Space Agency is a former paralympian on a mission to help open up spaceflight to people with disabilities. It feels like within our lifetimes, spaceflight will become even more commonplace, and that relatively soon citizens will be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":63814,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone.jpg",1200,801,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone-768x513.jpg",768,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone-1024x684.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone.jpg",1200,801,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/09\/its-looking-very-positive-meet-john-mcfall-the-uk-parastronaut-hoping-to-make-spaceflight-open-to-everyone.jpg",1200,801,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Ezzy Pearson Published: Thursday, 12 September 2024 at 07:58 AM UK astronaut John McFall of the European Space Agency is a former paralympian on a mission to help open up spaceflight to people with disabilities. It feels like within our lifetimes, spaceflight will become even more commonplace, and that relatively soon citizens will be…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/63813"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}