Event

Becoming an astronaut. A travel guide through the selection and training of ESA's 2022 astronaut reserve.

Veranstaltungsort: GW1 building, University of Bremen
Beginn: 23. April 2025, 14:00 Uhr
Ende: 23. April 2025, 15:00 Uhr
Bremen Human Space Exploration Seminar
Guest: Dr. med. Carmen Possnig

Carmen Possnig is a medical doctor, author, space physiology researcher, and member of the European Space Agency's astronaut reserve. 

What does it take to become an astronaut? In 2021, for the first time in 13 years, the European Space Agency was looking for new astronauts. More than 22,000 people from across Europe applied—including Carmen Possnig. Over the next 1.5 years, she underwent a series of demanding tests, assessing everything from cognitive abilities to physical fitness and performance under pressure. In the end, 17 astronauts were selected, including, for the first time, a dedicated reserve corps. But the selection was just the first step. From mastering teamwork in extreme conditions to winter survival training and diving in the “space pool,” Carmen will share an inside look at the journey from selection to training, and what it takes to prepare for space.

Carmen Possnig is a medical doctor, author, space physiology researcher, and member of the European Space Agency's astronaut reserve. In 2018, she spent a year at Concordia Station in Antarctica, working as ESA’s research medical doctor and investigating how humans adapt to extreme environments. Her current research focuses on how the human cardiovascular system and eyesight changes in microgravity, with the aim of keeping astronauts healthy and fit on future spaceflights to the Moon and Mars. In 2022, she was selected into ESA’s new astronaut corps and has just started training at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne.

Register here to take part in the talk: Click here

 

 

Bremen Human Space Exploration Seminar

The seminar will take place every second Thursday at 2 pm CET/CEST at the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) from 2025 during the lecture period. This time on Wednesday at GW1 building, Campus University of Bremen.

The invitation for the seminar will be send via email to all registered members of the space-exploration mailing list. You can register for the invitation here.

Portrait von Carmen Possnig
Carmen Possnig