Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo visited the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday, in anticipation for future astronaut Raphaël Liégeois, the third Belgian expected to venture into space from 2026.
Selected in November 2022 along with four other Europeans, Liégeois joined the European Space Agency’s (ESA) astronaut corps last February.
His maiden mission will be a six-month duration stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This near-36-year-old multi-degreed engineer, neuroscience researcher and hot-air balloon pilot has started undertaking training for his upcoming mission.
His training has mainly occurred at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, as well as in other partner countries, including Russia, Japan, Canada, and of course, the USA.
Touring NASA: Preparation mechanism & next step
Liégeois familiarised himself with the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center of the American space agency last Saturday afternoon. He was accompanied by De Croo, who is on a brief work visit to the US. They examined full-size replicas of the various ISS modules and a mock-up of the future spaceship for the Artemis mission. This NASA endeavour aims to return a crew to the lunar surface by 2025.
“It’s my first time in Houston and it’s very moving,” said Liégeois to a few journalists present.
“We will be based here for two years once we receive a mission,” he added. All five new European astronauts are expected to fly between 2026 and 2030.
