'Space is for everyone': Europe's Space Agency to hire first disabled astronaut

"Space is for everyone," European Space Agency (ESA) chief Josef Aschbacher said while announcing the launch of the world's first physically disabled astronaut.

The European Space Agency hopes to hire and launch the world's first physically disabled astronaut and several hundred would-be para-astronauts have already applied for the role, ESA head Josef Aschbacher told Reuters on Friday. The 22-member space programme has just closed its latest decennial recruitment call for astronauts and received 22,000 applicants, Aschbacher said.