The European Space Agency (ESA) has given the green light for the first-ever astronaut with a physical disability to launch into space, announcing on Friday that John McFall has been medically cleared for a long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
John McFall, a British surgeon and former Paralympian who lost a leg in a motorbike accident at 19, expressed “huge pride” in achieving this milestone.
Since naming McFall as part of its astronaut reserve in 2022, ESA has been assessing the feasibility of a crew member with a prosthesis.
On Friday, ESA confirmed that McFall had passed all medical evaluations required for an extended space mission.
McFall emphasized that he was “relatively passive” in the process, needing only to be medically fit and complete the necessary tasks.
“This is way bigger than me — this is a cultural shift,” he said during an online press conference.
There is no confirmed date yet for McFall’s mission, but ESA has labeled him the world’s first “parastronaut.”
“Now he’s an astronaut like everybody else, waiting for a mission assignment,” said Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA’s director of human and robotic exploration.
The announcement comes amid increasing political opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the United States under President Donald Trump’s administration.
“We are now entering a world that is changing a bit from a DEI perspective from one of our ISS partners,” Neuenschwander noted. “But we will continue with our European values.”
All ISS partners, including the US, have approved McFall’s medical clearance.
The next phase of ESA’s feasibility study will focus on adapting spaceflight hardware, including prosthetic enhancements, to help McFall overcome challenges in space.
McFall believes these advancements “will trickle down and benefit prosthetic users in wider society as well.”
