In 2022, the European Space Agency (ESA) revealed its astronaut class, made up of 17 individuals from 11 different countries. Among them was British astronaut John McFall, the first disabled person ever to be chosen as a potential astronaut.
As well as being a bronze-medal-winning Paralympian and orthopaedic surgeon, McFall is an above-the-knee amputee. As the world celebrates Disability Pride month this July, we take a look at the work McFall, ESA and others are doing to break down the barriers that stand in the way of making space accessible to everyone.
Spaceflight has a long history of inaccessible design. NASA spacecraft were initially built with only male astronauts in mind; on the Apollo spacecraft, the only option for urine collection was a tube not compatible with female anatomy, for example. Over the years, space agencies have adapted their craft and we've now seen 80 women take to the skies as astronauts and cosmonauts. Unfortunately, that's still only 12 per cent of the total number of
