Portugal has 25 new Astronauts for a Day

Created by the Portuguese Space Agency in 2022, the programme “Astronauta por um Dia” (Astronaut for a Day) is now in its fifth edition and has been adapted in five European countries, one of which boarded the aircraft alongside the Portuguese finalists this year. “Today I watched 35 young people preparing for a future that is still taking shape,” says Ricardo Conde, president of the Portuguese Space Agency, adding that “the cooperation between Portugal and Estonia in this edition of Astronauta por um Dia shows that building space talent is a shared European responsibility”. “Seeing a programme created in Portugal taken up in several European countries is the best measure of a job well done,” he says.

The Airbus A310 operated by France’s Novespace touched down at Santa Maria airport at midday on Sunday. Out of the rear door came the finalists of the fifth edition of “Astronauta por um Dia”, the programme that, since 2022, has given Portuguese students the flight they dreamed of. With them, the Estonian teenagers are sharing the flight from Portugal for the first time. In Estonia the programme is called Eesti otsib Estronauti, “Estonia is looking for an Estronaut”. It was created in 2023, inspired by the Portuguese original, and its previous edition was run with Luxembourg.

“Portugal inspired Estonia to launch the Estronaut programme, and this year we proudly organised its third edition together. The programme is an excellent example of how European partners from opposite corners of the continent can work together to inspire the next generation of space professionals and enthusiasts,” says Paul Liias, Head of Space at Estonia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs.

For two hours, the aircraft flew fifteen parabolas. Each one gives about twenty seconds without weight, the sensation astronauts live with aboard the International Space Station, 400 km above Earth.

The parabolic flight capped four days on Santa Maria, with the whole island involved. Between training sessions and group exercises, the finalists explored the island on foot, walking the trails of the Fontinhas Forest Reserve. They then went out by sea to the fossil beds along the coast with the Santa Maria Natural Park, and Manta Catalogue Azores introduced them to the devil rays that pass offshore. At the Teleport, home to the ESA and EUMETSAT antennas, and at the RAEGE radio telescope, which measures Earth’s movements, Santa Maria’s own teams showed them how it all works. The Atlantic Spaceport Consortium showed them where Portugal’s first spaceport will be built.

The finalists’ Graduation Ceremony was held at the Portuguese Space Agency’s headquarters, attended by its president, Ricardo Conde; by Paul Liias, Head of Space at Estonia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and the person responsible for Space Estonia; by the president of AI2, the Agency for Research and Innovation, and by the Mayor of Vila do Porto, Bárbara Chaves.

On Saturday night, the people of Vila do Porto joined the finalists and filled the Municipal Library to hear Sara García-Alonso, a reserve astronaut with the European Space Agency. The youngest Spanish astronaut, a molecular biologist who researches cancer in Madrid, she told a room full of teenagers how she got there. Of the 25 Portuguese finalists, fourteen are girls, the first time they have outnumbered the boys after several years of parity. On the Estonian side, seven out of ten. In all, 21 of the 35 young people who flew on Sunday were girls.

“For many young people, imagining themselves pursuing a career in science or space begins with the opportunity to experience that world first-hand, and initiatives like Astronauta por um Dia are a powerful way to make that possible. Seeing so many girls take part this year is especially meaningful, because talent, curiosity and courage have no gender,” says the astronaut.