CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -PARIS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - 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.

Detailed explanation-2: -In a bid to make spaceflight more inclusive, the European Space Agency (ESA) has hired its first astronaut with a physical disability. British Paralympic athlete and surgeon John McFall will join the ESA’s latest cohort of space travel candidates as a “parastronaut,” the agency announced last week.

Detailed explanation-3: -The parastronaut study aims to determine what modifications to launch vehicles, spacesuits and other space systems would be necessary to allow a physically disabled astronaut to live and work in space. There is precedent for an astronaut with a progressively disabling condition flying in space.

Detailed explanation-4: -The European Space Agency, provides Europe’s gateway to space. ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

Detailed explanation-5: -For people with disabilities, the sky may not always be the limit. Not quite two years after Hayley Arceneaux became the first person with a prosthetic body part in space, the European Space Agency has launched a “Parastronaut Feasibility Program,” and future astronaut corps may include people with disabilities.