I can't wait to see one of us heading toward the Moon
From a pool of 22,500 hopefuls, five Europeans have been entrusted with a rare and weighty calling: to carry their continent's ambitions beyond the atmosphere. Among them is Pablo Álvarez, a Spanish engineer from León whose quiet years building rovers for distant planets have now given way to preparing himself for the journey outward. In Cologne, where the training has begun, these five individuals are becoming something larger than themselves — symbols of what collective human effort, rooted in science and sustained by wonder, can still reach for.
- A secret kept even from his own parents until the night before departure, Álvarez's selection compressed years of quiet ambition into a single, world-changing announcement.
- Five astronauts drawn from 22,500 applicants now face the pressure of representing not just their nations, but an entire generation of young Europeans looking skyward.
- The first month of foundational training — biology, physics, physical conditioning — has left the cohort restless and eager to move from classroom theory into the practical demands of spaceflight.
- With ISS missions and the lunar Artemis program on the horizon, the stakes of their twelve-month preparation are as high as any assignment in modern European science.
- By spring 2024, official certification will mark the end of becoming and the beginning of going — the real work, as Álvarez himself put it, has only just started.
Pablo Álvarez arrived in Cologne on April 3rd carrying a secret he had kept from nearly everyone he loved. The 35-year-old engineer from León, Spain, had been selected by the European Space Agency as one of five new astronauts chosen from 22,500 applicants. His sister learned the news from the papers. His parents found out the night before he left.
By early May, a month into training alongside Sophie Adenot of France, Raphaël Liégeois of Belgium, Rosemary Coogan from Northern Ireland, and Marco Alain Sieber of Switzerland, Álvarez was already speaking publicly about what the role meant to him. His background had quietly prepared him for it: degrees in aeronautical and aerospace engineering, fluency in four languages, and years at Airbus and Safran working on the ExoMars rover — designing biological seals to prevent contamination on the Martian surface, coordinating with Russian space agencies, managing mechanical architecture. "Coming from industry, I think I understand well the level of engineering excellence we can achieve when all of us Europeans work together," he said at the program's public presentation.
The first month had covered the fundamentals — biology, physics, physical conditioning. The cohort was eager to move further. After this initial twelve-month block, each astronaut would be assigned to specific missions and receive specialized training. Official ESA certification was expected by spring 2024, with early assignments likely pointing toward the International Space Station and the Artemis lunar program.
For Álvarez, the weight of what he now represented was clear. He had grown up inspired by Pedro Duque, Spain's earlier astronaut, and understood that he and his colleagues would now serve that same role for millions of young Europeans. "I'm certain that each of us can see ourselves reflected in someone," he reflected. The hardest part, he admitted, had been the silence — keeping the secret from his own family. But that silence was behind him now, and the work had truly begun.
Pablo Álvarez Fernández arrived in Cologne on April 3rd, stepping into a life he had kept secret from nearly everyone he knew. The 35-year-old engineer from León, Spain, was one of five people chosen by the European Space Agency from a pool of 22,500 applicants to become astronauts. His sister learned about it from the newspapers. His parents found out the night before he left for Germany.
By early May, after a month of training alongside his four colleagues—Sophie Adenot of France, Raphaël Liégeois of Belgium, Rosemary Coogan from Northern Ireland, and Marco Alain Sieber of Switzerland—Álvarez was already speaking publicly about what the role meant to him. He carried with him a background that had prepared him for this moment without him necessarily knowing it would lead here. He held degrees in aeronautical engineering from the University of León and aerospace engineering from Warsaw University of Technology. He spoke Spanish, English, Polish, and French. He had spent years at Airbus and Safran working on the ExoMars rover project, handling everything from mechanical architecture to integration procedures with Russian space agencies to designing biological seals that would prevent contamination on the Martian surface.
When asked about his path to this selection, Álvarez spoke about the engineers he had worked alongside in industry and what their collective ambition could accomplish. "Coming from industry, I think I understand well the level of engineering excellence we can achieve when all of us Europeans work together," he said during the training program's public presentation. But what animated him most was the prospect ahead. He could not wait, he said, to see one of his cohort actually aboard a spacecraft, heading toward the European space module or toward the Moon itself.
The first month of training had been foundational—biology, physics, and physical conditioning. The five were eager to move beyond the classroom. Sieber, a Belgian physician, admitted he was impatient to begin the practical lessons. After this initial twelve-month block of basic training, each would be assigned to specific missions and would receive specialized instruction tailored to their role. By spring 2024, they would receive their official certification as ESA astronauts. The likely destinations for their early missions were the International Space Station and the Artemis program, which aimed to return humans to the Moon.
For Álvarez, the weight of representation was not lost. He remembered being a child inspired by earlier Spanish astronauts, particularly Pedro Duque. Now he understood that he and his four colleagues would serve that same function for millions of young Europeans watching their progress. "For each of us it can be very special," he reflected. "I'm certain that each of us can see ourselves reflected in someone." Sophie Adenot, his French colleague, noted that the five brought diverse expertise—astronomy, physics, neuroscience, medicine—and that in just these first weeks they had grown together as a team. Their instructors were already seeing their expectations met from day one. The hardest part so far, Álvarez admitted, had been the silence. Keeping the secret from his own family had weighed on him. But now that silence was broken, and the work—the real work—had begun.
Notable Quotes
Coming from industry, I think I understand well the level of engineering excellence we can achieve when all of us Europeans work together.— Pablo Álvarez
For each of us it can be very special. I'm certain that each of us can see ourselves reflected in someone.— Pablo Álvarez
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What was it like, keeping this from your family for months?
Harder than I expected. You want to tell the people closest to you something this significant, and you can't. My sister found out through the news. I had to apologize to her for that.
And your parents?
They got one night's notice before I flew to Cologne. One night to process that their son was about to become an astronaut.
You've worked on Mars rovers. How does that experience translate to astronaut training?
It taught me how to think about systems, about integration, about working across borders with other space agencies. But being in the spacecraft yourself—that's different. That's the dream I didn't let myself fully imagine until now.
You mentioned seeing Pedro Duque as a child. Do you feel that responsibility now, being that figure for someone else?
Yes. We're not just training to go to space. We're showing young Europeans that this is possible for them too. That matters as much as the missions themselves.
What surprised you most in this first month?
How quickly we became a team. Five people from different countries, different backgrounds, and within weeks we're moving together. That's the European part working exactly as it should.