Klaus Damian & Michel Tognini* Astronaut Centre

esa bulletin 123 - august 2005 55

15 Years of EAC

T he European Astronaut Centre (EAC) inCologne is unique among the ESA centresfor a number of reasons: it is the home

base of the European Astronaut Corps, it islocated on the premises of a national agency, ithas a very specific organisational setupintegrating staff from various origins, it enjoystremendous public visibility and, last but notleast, it is the youngest ESA Centre. The Centrehas developed impressively since its officialfounding 15 years ago, with the signing of theHost Agreement with Germany on 10 May1990.

Early PlansThe first steps towards the setting up ofEAC in Cologne were taken in 1988. Atthat time, the planned European mannedspace programme was very ambitious.With the goal of achieving autonomoushuman access to space for Europe, theprogramme included as major elements the Columbus Laboratory (AttachedPressurised Module, or APM), the reusableHermes space plane to be launched byAriane-5, the Man-Tended Free Flyer(MTFF) as a free-flying laboratory, theEuropean Robotic Arm (ERA), andvarious experimental payload facilities.The original scenario for the astronautsupport and training facilities corres-ponded to the demanding requirements ofthat programme.

The EuropeanAstronaut Centre– A Look Back at 15 Years of

Astronautical Expertise



Klaus Damian & Michel Tognini*European Astronaut Centre, Cologne, Germany

* As Head of the Astronauts Training Division, Klaus Damian, nowretired, contributed to EAC’s development from the outset. MichelTogini, former ESA astronaut, is now Head of EAC.

damian 9/13/05 11:24 AM Page 54

esa bulletin 123 - august 2005 55

15 Years of EAC

T he European Astronaut Centre (EAC) inCologne is unique among the ESA centresfor a number of reasons: it is the home

base of the European Astronaut Corps, it islocated on the premises of a national agency, ithas a very specific organisational setupintegrating staff from various origins, it enjoystremendous public visibility and, last but notleast, it is the youngest ESA Centre. The Centrehas developed impressively since its officialfounding 15 years ago, with the signing of theHost Agreement with Germany on 10 May1990.

Early PlansThe first steps towards the setting up ofEAC in Cologne were taken in 1988. Atthat time, the planned European mannedspace programme was very ambitious.With the goal of achieving autonomoushuman access to space for Europe, theprogramme included as major elements the Columbus Laboratory (AttachedPressurised Module, or APM), the reusableHermes space plane to be launched byAriane-5, the Man-Tended Free Flyer(MTFF) as a free-flying laboratory, theEuropean Robotic Arm (ERA), andvarious experimental payload facilities.The original scenario for the astronautsupport and training facilities corres-ponded to the demanding requirements ofthat programme.





Klaus Damian & Michel Tognini*European Astronaut Centre, Cologne, Germany

* As Head of the Astronauts Training Division, Klaus Damian, nowretired, contributed to EAC’s development from the outset. MichelTogini, former ESA astronaut, is now Head of EAC.

damian 9/13/05 11:24 AM Page 54

56 esa bulletin 123 - august 2005 www.esa.int

Human Spaceflight

esa bulletin 123 - august 2005www.esa.int 57

15 Years of EAC

possibilities for cooperation. It took sometime, however, for this development tomature and be transformed into formalprogrammatic changes.

On 1 September 1988, Andres Ripoll,the first Head of EAC, took up duty atESA Headquarters in Paris. He reporteddirectly to the Director General, but he hadto fight for his budget with the Hermes andColumbus Programmes, both of whichtried to reduce their contributions below50%. On 1 October 1989, the first EACstaff member in Cologne, Franco Rossitto,took up duty as Head of the Astronaut

Division in temporary offices provided byDLR, followed by the Head of the Astro-naut Training Division on 1 November.With a planned long-term complement ofabout 200 staff, the mid-term recruitmentplanning aimed at 88 ESA staff and 20contractors until 1994.

The construction of DLR’s CTCbuilding, funded by the Germangovernment and the Land Nordrhein-Westfalen on a fifty-fifty basis, was startedin 1991. It was ready for use in 1992 andinitially accommodated the DLR Trainingand Crew Operations Departments along

with the DLR Astronaut Office. The plansfor a separate adjacent EAC building havenot been implemented and the EAC staffhave been accommodated since 1993 onone floor of the CTC office wing. Initiallythe EAC and DLR teams worked largelyindependently on their respective missions,e.g. IML-1 with ESA astronaut UlfMerbold and MIR 92 with DLR astronautKlaus-Dietrich Flade. The DLR team alsoprovided support for EAC activities, on thebasis of a framework contract.

In parallel, the development andpreparation of the first training course atEAC, namely the Basic Training forastronaut candidates, made progress. Anoverall training concept was worked outand endorsed in 1991 by a Review Boardcomposed of experienced astronauts andtraining experts from the USA, Russia andEurope under the chairmanship ofastronaut Ernst Messerschmid, who laterbecame Head of EAC (1999 – 2004).

Back in 1978, long before the creation ofEAC, ESA had recruited three astronautsfor the Spacelab-1 mission: Ulf Merbold,Claude Nicollier and Wubbo Ockels.Though assigned to EAC, they remained intheir respective environments at DLR,NASA and ESTEC. When the need torecruit more astronauts became obvious,the first astronaut selection processconducted by EAC in 1991/92 was aEurope-wide endeavour, involvingnational pre-selections with more than6000 applicants, who were distilled to nomore than five candidates per MemberState. The final selection of six AstronautCandidates, endorsed by ESA’s DirectorGeneral, brought the total ESA astronautteam to nine.

Thereafter, it took some time for thedecision-makers to come to the conclusionthat the maintenanceb of a European andseveral national astronaut teams in parallelwas neither logical nor efficient. This ledto the ESA Council's decision in 1998 tointegrate the national and European

Early in 1988, an ‘Astronaut TrainingConcept and Associated Facilities’proposal had already been submitted to theESA Council. Based on the requirementsof the Columbus and Hermes programmes,it foresaw a buildup of the ESA astronautteam to 38 astronauts, including 12Hermes pilots. This was based on theassumption of a permanent Europeanpresence onboard the APM, with a crewexchange taking place every three months,two Hermes missions per year for MTFFservicing, and two Shuttle missions peryear.

The concept proposed for the astronauttraining foresaw a decentralised set-up atvarious national facilities (see figure): theHermes pilot training with flightsimulators and the Hermes training aircraftwas to take place in Brussels (B), theHermes systems training in Toulouse (F),the training for the Columbus Laboratory,the Hermes/MTFF composite and payloadtraining in Cologne (D), the EuropeanRobotic Arm training at ESTEC (NL), andthe underwater training for extravehicularactivities in Marseilles (F). There was alsoto be a medical centre in Denmark andcrew quarters in Kourou (Fr. Guiana).

For the overall management of astronautactivities, under ESA’s responsibility, andas a home base for the ESA astronauts, theplanned European Astronaut Centre, calledthe ‘Astronaut Headquarters’ at that time,was to be located in Cologne. There weretwo decisive factors in opting for thislocation: Germany's major financialcontribution to the European mannedspace programme, and DLR's relevantexperience in supporting ESA's firstSpacelab mission and carrying out thenational Spacelab-D1 mission.

A major step forward was made inSeptember 1989, when the ESA DirectorGeneral and the Directors for theColumbus and Hermes Programmes metthe Board of DLR and representatives ofthe German Federal Research and

Technology Ministry (BMFT) for a siteinspection in Cologne. The purpose of thismeeting was to choose a site for the‘Astronaut Headquarters’. Basically twooptions were being discussed: anindependent location outside the DLRpremises, or a location adjacent to theplanned DLR Crew Training Complex(CTC) on the DLR premises. The latteroption was ultimately chosen, but with aseparate external access as an ESA facility.

This agreement became the basis for theEAC Host Agreement, which granted thesmallest ESA centre full international andextraterritorial status, as well as directprivileged access to Cologne Airport, a

special requirement for the pilotastronauts.

Realistic ImplementationAs we now know, the European mannedspace programme developed somewhatmore modestly than was originallyplanned. Hermes and the Man-Tended FreeFlyer were scrapped, the scale of theColumbus Laboratory docking modulewas halved, and the overall schedule wasextended. On the other hand, theAutomated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cameonto the scene as an additional flightelement and the fundamental politicalchanges in Russia opened up many new

The decentralised training-facilities concept

Artist’s impression of the Hermes Pilot Training Facility in Brussels

Top-level site inspection in Cologne

Signature of the EAC Host Agreement by German Minister HeinzRiesenhuber (left) and ESA Director General Reimar Lüst (right)in Cologne on 10 May 1990

damian 9/13/05 11:24 AM Page 56


Human Spaceflight


15 Years of EAC

possibilities for cooperation. It took sometime, however, for this development tomature and be transformed into formalprogrammatic changes.

On 1 September 1988, Andres Ripoll,the first Head of EAC, took up duty atESA Headquarters in Paris. He reporteddirectly to the Director General, but he hadto fight for his budget with the Hermes andColumbus Programmes, both of whichtried to reduce their contributions below50%. On 1 October 1989, the first EACstaff member in Cologne, Franco Rossitto,took up duty as Head of the Astronaut

Division in temporary offices provided byDLR, followed by the Head of the Astro-naut Training Division on 1 November.With a planned long-term complement ofabout 200 staff, the mid-term recruitmentplanning aimed at 88 ESA staff and 20contractors until 1994.

The construction of DLR’s CTCbuilding, funded by the Germangovernment and the Land Nordrhein-Westfalen on a fifty-fifty basis, was startedin 1991. It was ready for use in 1992 andinitially accommodated the DLR Trainingand Crew Operations Departments along

with the DLR Astronaut Office. The plansfor a separate adjacent EAC building havenot been implemented and the EAC staffhave been accommodated since 1993 onone floor of the CTC office wing. Initiallythe EAC and DLR teams worked largelyindependently on their respective missions,e.g. IML-1 with ESA astronaut UlfMerbold and MIR 92 with DLR astronautKlaus-Dietrich Flade. The DLR team alsoprovided support for EAC activities, on thebasis of a framework contract.

In parallel, the development andpreparation of the first training course atEAC, namely the Basic Training forastronaut candidates, made progress. Anoverall training concept was worked outand endorsed in 1991 by a Review Boardcomposed of experienced astronauts andtraining experts from the USA, Russia andEurope under the chairmanship ofastronaut Ernst Messerschmid, who laterbecame Head of EAC (1999 – 2004).

Back in 1978, long before the creation ofEAC, ESA had recruited three astronautsfor the Spacelab-1 mission: Ulf Merbold,Claude Nicollier and Wubbo Ockels.Though assigned to EAC, they remained intheir respective environments at DLR,NASA and ESTEC. When the need torecruit more astronauts became obvious,the first astronaut selection processconducted by EAC in 1991/92 was aEurope-wide endeavour, involvingnational pre-selections with more than6000 applicants, who were distilled to nomore than five candidates per MemberState. The final selection of six AstronautCandidates, endorsed by ESA’s DirectorGeneral, brought the total ESA astronautteam to nine.

Thereafter, it took some time for thedecision-makers to come to the conclusionthat the maintenanceb of a European andseveral national astronaut teams in parallelwas neither logical nor efficient. This ledto the ESA Council's decision in 1998 tointegrate the national and European

Early in 1988, an ‘Astronaut TrainingConcept and Associated Facilities’proposal had already been submitted to theESA Council. Based on the requirementsof the Columbus and Hermes programmes,it foresaw a buildup of the ESA astronautteam to 38 astronauts, including 12Hermes pilots. This was based on theassumption of a permanent Europeanpresence onboard the APM, with a crewexchange taking place every three months,two Hermes missions per year for MTFFservicing, and two Shuttle missions peryear.

The concept proposed for the astronauttraining foresaw a decentralised set-up atvarious national facilities (see figure): theHermes pilot training with flightsimulators and the Hermes training aircraftwas to take place in Brussels (B), theHermes systems training in Toulouse (F),the training for the Columbus Laboratory,the Hermes/MTFF composite and payloadtraining in Cologne (D), the EuropeanRobotic Arm training at ESTEC (NL), andthe underwater training for extravehicularactivities in Marseilles (F). There was alsoto be a medical centre in Denmark andcrew quarters in Kourou (Fr. Guiana).

For the overall management of astronautactivities, under ESA’s responsibility, andas a home base for the ESA astronauts, theplanned European Astronaut Centre, calledthe ‘Astronaut Headquarters’ at that time,was to be located in Cologne. There weretwo decisive factors in opting for thislocation: Germany's major financialcontribution to the European mannedspace programme, and DLR's relevantexperience in supporting ESA's firstSpacelab mission and carrying out thenational Spacelab-D1 mission.

A major step forward was made inSeptember 1989, when the ESA DirectorGeneral and the Directors for theColumbus and Hermes Programmes metthe Board of DLR and representatives ofthe German Federal Research and

Technology Ministry (BMFT) for a siteinspection in Cologne. The purpose of thismeeting was to choose a site for the‘Astronaut Headquarters’. Basically twooptions were being discussed: anindependent location outside the DLRpremises, or a location adjacent to theplanned DLR Crew Training Complex(CTC) on the DLR premises. The latteroption was ultimately chosen, but with aseparate external access as an ESA facility.

This agreement became the basis for theEAC Host Agreement, which granted thesmallest ESA centre full international andextraterritorial status, as well as directprivileged access to Cologne Airport, a

special requirement for the pilotastronauts.

Realistic ImplementationAs we now know, the European mannedspace programme developed somewhatmore modestly than was originallyplanned. Hermes and the Man-Tended FreeFlyer were scrapped, the scale of theColumbus Laboratory docking modulewas halved, and the overall schedule wasextended. On the other hand, theAutomated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cameonto the scene as an additional flightelement and the fundamental politicalchanges in Russia opened up many new

The decentralised training-facilities concept

Artist’s impression of the Hermes Pilot Training Facility in Brussels

Top-level site inspection in Cologne

Signature of the EAC Host Agreement by German Minister HeinzRiesenhuber (left) and ESA Director General Reimar Lüst (right)in Cologne on 10 May 1990

damian 9/13/05 11:24 AM Page 56


programmes, and qualifying the necessaryinstructors. Today, the specific trainingfacilities for Columbus, the ATV and thepayloads are ready for service and havealready been used for a number of trainingcampaigns with international astronautteams. These facilities notably include a

Columbus simulator, a Columbus mock-up, an ATV trainer docked to a mock-upservice module, ATV rendezvous anddocking simulators, and a simulator foreach payload rack. In addition, there arethe general training facilities, whichinclude: a huge water-tank for diving

exercises in preparation for extra-vehicularactivities, class rooms with ultra-modernmultimedia equipment, facilities forcomputer-aided learning and, just asimportant, a fitness room.

Whilst this equipment was being built,the necessary personnel for operations andtraining were being qualified. EACinstructors are certified according tomultilaterally agreed standards, andinstructors from partner organisations arealready being trained at the Centre. Theexhaustive Training Readiness Reviewshave been successfully completed.

In addition to the experiment trainingconducted at EAC since 1993 for the Soyuzmissions and for some of the Europeanpayloads for the Shuttle missions, therehave been regular training campaigns since2002 for the astronauts assigned to ISSduties. Training for the ISS elements is theresponsibility of the contributing Partner ineach case. This results in decentralisedtraining at the ISS Partners' respectivetraining centres: Houston, Star City/Moscow, Tsukuba, Montreal and Cologne.Because there will not always be an ESAastronaut onboard the Space Station afterdocking of the Columbus laboratory, theastronauts of the ISS Partner organisationsalso have to be trained to tend the ESAelements. To date, astronauts from theUSA, Russia and Japan have undergonesuch training at EAC alongside ESA’s ownastronauts. This close internationalcooperation not only allows an all-roundexchange of experience, but it also makesfor tougher competition on quality,presenting a challenge which even thesmaller contributing Partners need to beable to meet.

In the wake of the ‘Columbia’ Shuttledisaster, the transportation of theColumbus laboratory to the Space Stationhas been delayed. Once Shuttle operationshave resumed and things get back tonormal, some 70 ISS astronauts and ESAas well as international flight controllersare expected for training at EAC annually.

15 Years of EAC


astronaut teams. The resulting singleEuropean Astronaut Corps grew to 16 members with the followingdistribution of nationalities: France (4),Germany (4), Italy (3), Belgium (1),Netherlands (1), Sweden (1), Switzerland(1) and Spain (1).

It was then only logical to apply thesame integration model to the ESA andDLR support teams working in parallel inthe same building. In 1999, therefore, an

agreement was reached between ESA andDLR on the integration of DLR expertsinto the EAC team and the transfer of theformer CTC building to ESA for itsexclusive use. Under similar agreements, anumber of staff from the Italian SpaceAgency (ASI) and the French SpaceAgency (CNES) have also been integratedinto the EAC team.

The implementation of these organ-isational changes was, of course, not an

easy task, but was successfullyaccomplished due mainly to theoutstanding management skills of the lateErik Slachmuylders while Acting Head ofEAC, and his predecessors Heinz Oser andFranco Rossitto.

Today, the Centre has 80 staff drawnfrom ten different countries, including 13active astronauts. Of these, 55 work inCologne, about one third of them beingseconded from DLR. A further 20 comefrom outside firms and organisations:instructors from industry, guest instructorsfrom partner organizations, and otherindustrial support personnel. Theastronauts are periodically assigned, forshort- or long-term stays, to traininglocations such as Houston and Moscow, orto support ESA’s programmes at ESTEC orin industry.

Missions FlownTo date, 31 astronauts from ESA and itsMember States have taken part in a total of39 missions. EAC has been activelyinvolved since its establishment in 21 ofthem: 11 Shuttle missions and 10 Soyuzmissions, including 8 to the InternationalSpace Station (ISS). The experienceaccumulated thanks to these missions hasproved invaluable in preparing the trainingand medical support for those Europeanastronauts given ISS assignments. Thelatest of them, a Soyuz mission known asENEIDE with Roberto Vittori onboard,was launched on 15 April and successfullycompleted with a safe landing on 25 April.After the Shuttle’s return to flight, the firstlong-duration mission by an ESA astronautto the ISS will be that of Thomas Reiter,with Leopold Eyharts as backup.

TrainingThe work of the Astronaut TrainingDivision has focused on building up theinfrastructure and the training facilities for the ISS, preparing the training

Human Spaceflight

Construction of DLR’s CTC building, with its Neutral BuoyancyFacility, in August 1991

The ESA Crew Surgeon and biomedical engineers in the EACMedical Control Room

The EAC Training Hall, with the ATV simulator under construction

The EAC Team

damian 9/13/05 11:24 AM Page 58


programmes, and qualifying the necessaryinstructors. Today, the specific trainingfacilities for Columbus, the ATV and thepayloads are ready for service and havealready been used for a number of trainingcampaigns with international astronautteams. These facilities notably include a

Columbus simulator, a Columbus mock-up, an ATV trainer docked to a mock-upservice module, ATV rendezvous anddocking simulators, and a simulator foreach payload rack. In addition, there arethe general training facilities, whichinclude: a huge water-tank for diving

exercises in preparation for extra-vehicularactivities, class rooms with ultra-modernmultimedia equipment, facilities forcomputer-aided learning and, just asimportant, a fitness room.

Whilst this equipment was being built,the necessary personnel for operations andtraining were being qualified. EACinstructors are certified according tomultilaterally agreed standards, andinstructors from partner organisations arealready being trained at the Centre. Theexhaustive Training Readiness Reviewshave been successfully completed.

In addition to the experiment trainingconducted at EAC since 1993 for the Soyuzmissions and for some of the Europeanpayloads for the Shuttle missions, therehave been regular training campaigns since2002 for the astronauts assigned to ISSduties. Training for the ISS elements is theresponsibility of the contributing Partner ineach case. This results in decentralisedtraining at the ISS Partners' respectivetraining centres: Houston, Star City/Moscow, Tsukuba, Montreal and Cologne.Because there will not always be an ESAastronaut onboard the Space Station afterdocking of the Columbus laboratory, theastronauts of the ISS Partner organisationsalso have to be trained to tend the ESAelements. To date, astronauts from theUSA, Russia and Japan have undergonesuch training at EAC alongside ESA’s ownastronauts. This close internationalcooperation not only allows an all-roundexchange of experience, but it also makesfor tougher competition on quality,presenting a challenge which even thesmaller contributing Partners need to beable to meet.

In the wake of the ‘Columbia’ Shuttledisaster, the transportation of theColumbus laboratory to the Space Stationhas been delayed. Once Shuttle operationshave resumed and things get back tonormal, some 70 ISS astronauts and ESAas well as international flight controllersare expected for training at EAC annually.

15 Years of EAC


astronaut teams. The resulting singleEuropean Astronaut Corps grew to 16 members with the followingdistribution of nationalities: France (4),Germany (4), Italy (3), Belgium (1),Netherlands (1), Sweden (1), Switzerland(1) and Spain (1).

It was then only logical to apply thesame integration model to the ESA andDLR support teams working in parallel inthe same building. In 1999, therefore, an

agreement was reached between ESA andDLR on the integration of DLR expertsinto the EAC team and the transfer of theformer CTC building to ESA for itsexclusive use. Under similar agreements, anumber of staff from the Italian SpaceAgency (ASI) and the French SpaceAgency (CNES) have also been integratedinto the EAC team.

The implementation of these organ-isational changes was, of course, not an

easy task, but was successfullyaccomplished due mainly to theoutstanding management skills of the lateErik Slachmuylders while Acting Head ofEAC, and his predecessors Heinz Oser andFranco Rossitto.

Today, the Centre has 80 staff drawnfrom ten different countries, including 13active astronauts. Of these, 55 work inCologne, about one third of them beingseconded from DLR. A further 20 comefrom outside firms and organisations:instructors from industry, guest instructorsfrom partner organizations, and otherindustrial support personnel. Theastronauts are periodically assigned, forshort- or long-term stays, to traininglocations such as Houston and Moscow, orto support ESA’s programmes at ESTEC orin industry.

Missions FlownTo date, 31 astronauts from ESA and itsMember States have taken part in a total of39 missions. EAC has been activelyinvolved since its establishment in 21 ofthem: 11 Shuttle missions and 10 Soyuzmissions, including 8 to the InternationalSpace Station (ISS). The experienceaccumulated thanks to these missions hasproved invaluable in preparing the trainingand medical support for those Europeanastronauts given ISS assignments. Thelatest of them, a Soyuz mission known asENEIDE with Roberto Vittori onboard,was launched on 15 April and successfullycompleted with a safe landing on 25 April.After the Shuttle’s return to flight, the firstlong-duration mission by an ESA astronautto the ISS will be that of Thomas Reiter,with Leopold Eyharts as backup.

TrainingThe work of the Astronaut TrainingDivision has focused on building up theinfrastructure and the training facilities for the ISS, preparing the training

Human Spaceflight

Construction of DLR’s CTC building, with its Neutral BuoyancyFacility, in August 1991

The ESA Crew Surgeon and biomedical engineers in the EACMedical Control Room

The EAC Training Hall, with the ATV simulator under construction

The EAC Team

damian 9/13/05 11:24 AM Page 58


Operational MedicineEAC’s Medical Support Office isresponsible for the medical welfare of theastronauts from their selection and theirannual check-ups through to all phases of amission. It is supported in this task by theDLR institute for flight medicine. The careprovided also includes fitness training,nutritional advice and psycho-social care,for relatives too. To support the astronautsduring each mission, a Medical ControlRoom is activated at EAC to monitor allmedically relevant data.

Medical Support Office staff, certifiedas ISS Crew Surgeons and/or ISS FlightControllers, are already supportingongoing missions as members of themultilateral medical team.

High Public InterestThe ‘German Space Day’ in Cologne, heldevery two years, is the high-point in termsof numbers of visitors to EAC. People ofall ages want to meet the astronauts face toface, marvel at the space technology andbe brought up to date regarding themissions taking place. Throughout theyear, however, there are an average of forty

visitors to EAC every working day. Thedemand is actually much higher, but thelimited availability of personnel andconstraints due to non-interference withday-to-day operations limit the numbersthat can be received. This has promptedESA and DLR to jointly consider settingup a dedicated visitor centre, provisionallyknown as ‘Cosmos Cologne’, with thoughtcurrently being given to how a self-funding, privately-run operation couldconvey the fascination of space to evenmore people.

Preparing for the FutureThis look back over the last 15 years ofEAC is, of course, a good occasion to lookinto the future also.

EAC is well prepared to support theupcoming long-duration mission to theInternational Space Station in 2006, andlooking forward to the challengingmissions related to the European elementsof the International Space Station, whichinclude the Columbus launch andactivation and the first launch of the ATV‘Jules Verne’. ESA certainly needs a newastronaut-selection process in the near

future in order to support the subsequentroutine operations. But also lookingbeyond the next 15 years, EAC willcontinue to actively participate in theEuropean Space Exploration Programme,which foresees missions to the Moon andMars by European astronauts by 2030. It isnot a dream to imagine ESA astronautschosen in the next selection process andtrained at EAC participating in thesemissions. r

Human Spaceflight

Artist’s impression of ‘Cosmos Cologne’

damian 9/13/05 11:24 AM Page 60

Documents

Klaus Damian & Michel Tognini* Astronaut Centre