John McFall, first astronaut with a disability, cleared for space station mission

PARIS: The first-ever astronaut with a physical disability has been cleared for a mission onboard the International Space Station, European Space Agency announced Friday.
John McFall, a 43-year-old British surgeon and former Paralympian who lost a leg in a motorbike accident when he was 19, said he was “hugely proud” of clearing the hurdle.
Since announcing McFall as a member of its astronaut reserve in 2022, ESA has been assessing the feasibility of someone with a prosthesis becoming a crew member on a space mission. On Friday, ESA said McFall had received medical clearance for a long- duration mission onboard the ISS.
McFall emphasised that he was “relatively passive” in the process, and just had to be medically healthy and carry out the required tasks. “This is way bigger than me – this is a cultural shift,” he said.
There is no date yet for when McFall will get his chance to become what ESA has dubbed the first “parastronaut”.
“Now he’s an astronaut like everybody else who wants to fly to the space station, waiting for a mission assignment,” said ESA’s director of human and robotic exploration Daniel Neuenschwander.
ESA’s announcement comes as DEI initiatives have come under attack from US President Trump. “We are entering a world which is changing a bit from a DEI perspective,” Neuenschwander said. “We will continue with our European values,” he emphasised, adding that all ISS partners – including the US – had given McFall medical clearance.