16 candidates from Romania, nine women and seven men, moved to the next phase, called 2-1, of the ESA astronaut recruitment process. They were selected from a total of 254 applications from Romania — 55 female and 199 male — and out of a grand total of 22 523 valid astronaut applications received by ESA from all Member and Cooperating States.

Following a comprehensive screening phase, the 16 Romanian applicants will now go through a full day of psychological performance testing at a facility in Europe.

In total, 1361 people were invited to phase 2-1, 530 women and 831 men, and at least three candidates from every Member State. This reflects the high calibre of applications received across the board.

In addition, 27 candidates who applied for the astronaut with a disability vacancy have been invited to the next phase.

Candidates who are successful at phase two will go on to participate in a set of psychological interviews and group tests ahead of medical testing. Those who successfully pass each of these selection stages will be invited to recruitment interviews. ESA’s new class of astronauts and reserve astronauts is expected to be announced in autumn 2022.

More details here.

Image credit: ESA