Disability in Space -- What ESA should have aimed for

TL;DR

The paper critiques ESA's Parastronaut Feasibility Project for its limited approach to disability inclusion, arguing it perpetuates outdated norms and calling for genuine inclusion that challenges individuals with disabilities.

Contribution

It highlights the need for a more inclusive and challenging approach to disability in space programs, moving beyond superficial inclusion.

Findings

ESA's criteria limit disability inclusion to certain malformations

Current policies follow outdated spaceflight traditions

A call for more genuine and challenging inclusion in space missions

Abstract

With announcing their "Parastronaut Feasibility Project", the European Space Agency ESA promises to make every reasonable effort to send astronauts with disability to space. This could spark hope in the 15% of all people who live with some form of disability. However, the fine-print of the announcement sets overly tight boundaries to "acceptable" disabilities, allowing only malformations that are expected to have a positive impact on the parastronaut's performance in space. By doing so, ESA is following decade-old traditions in space flight, with some inclusion for the sake of inclusion and public opinion. Instead of accommodating people with disabilities, ESA should send a strong signal for inclusion and truly challenge people with disabilities so they can and will tease out the best of their qualities.