Europe Names World’s First Disabled Astronaut 

ESA Astronaut Class of 2022 Meganne Christian (L), John McFall (C), and Rosemary Coogan (R) pose during a ceremony to unveil the European Space Agency new class of career astronauts in Paris on November 23, 2022. (AFP)
ESA Astronaut Class of 2022 Meganne Christian (L), John McFall (C), and Rosemary Coogan (R) pose during a ceremony to unveil the European Space Agency new class of career astronauts in Paris on November 23, 2022. (AFP)
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Europe Names World’s First Disabled Astronaut 

ESA Astronaut Class of 2022 Meganne Christian (L), John McFall (C), and Rosemary Coogan (R) pose during a ceremony to unveil the European Space Agency new class of career astronauts in Paris on November 23, 2022. (AFP)
ESA Astronaut Class of 2022 Meganne Christian (L), John McFall (C), and Rosemary Coogan (R) pose during a ceremony to unveil the European Space Agency new class of career astronauts in Paris on November 23, 2022. (AFP)

The European Space Agency on Wednesday named the first ever "parastronaut" in a major step towards allowing people with physical disabilities to work and live in space. 

The 22-nation agency said it had appointed British Paralympic sprinter John McFall to take part in a feasibility study during astronaut training to assess the conditions needed for people with disabilities to take part in future missions. 

The announcement came as ESA appointed a new set of astronauts for the first time since 2009 after whittling down 22,500 valid applications. 

ESA posted openings last year for people fully capable of passing its usual stringent psychological, cognitive and other tests who are only prevented from becoming astronauts due to the constraints of existing hardware in light of their disability. 

It received 257 applications for the role of astronaut with a disability. 

McFall will work with ESA engineers to understand what changes in hardware are needed to open professional spaceflight to a wider group of qualified candidates, the agency said.  



Faint Glow in Saturn… Did a Mystery Object Crash into the Gas Giant on Saturday?

New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA
New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA
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Faint Glow in Saturn… Did a Mystery Object Crash into the Gas Giant on Saturday?

New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA
New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA

Astronomers have called for help to identify a mystery object that may have hit Saturn on Saturday in what could be the first recorded instance of a space object crashing on to the gas giant.

Studies suggest large objects- measuring over a kilometer across – strike Saturn once every 3,125 years on an average, according to The Independent.

Although data shows seven or eight small space rocks hit the planet every year, none have been spotted in the act by astronomers so far.

Compared to rocky planets where cosmic collisions leave impact craters, gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn don’t reveal such signs.

But a new image captured by a Nasa employee and amateur astronomer Mario Rana appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time.

Since gas giants have outer layers made of hydrogen and helium, strikes by asteroids or comets can quickly fade out.

Rana is part of the DeTeCt project, which analyzes images of Jupiter and Saturn using computer software. Videos taken of Saturn by the astronomer last Saturday show a faint glow in the left side of the footage, which seems like an impact event.

The Planetary Virtual Observatory and Laboratory, or PVOL, a consortium of professional and amateur astronomers, has called for experts in the field to attempt to confirm or refute the potential impact on Saturn.

“Marc Delcroix reports a potential impact in Saturn captured in a few frames in a video observation obtained by Mario Rana. The potential impact would be very faint and is unconfirmed,” PVOL said in a statement.

“The very short impact flash occurred on Saturn on 5 July 2025, between 9am and 9.15am UT. It is very important to get other videos of Saturn taken during that time frame.”

PVOL has urged astronomers who may have also captured observations from this time to contact Delcroix and submit their data.

Leigh N Fletcher, a planetary science professor at the University of Leicester, also called for amateur space observers to share any potential videos they may have of the impact.

“Amplifying the call from Marc Delcroix and co over the weekend: the team are looking to verify/refute a potential impact on Saturn on 5 July, 9am to 9.15am UT,” Dr Fletcher wrote on BlueSky.

“Videos taken by amateur observers at that time might hold the key.”