UK’s McFall makes space history

On 14 February, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that John McFall, the world’s first disabled astronaut, has been given medical clearance for missions to the International Space Station (ISS) McFall, who lives in Cardiff, Wales, had his leg amputated (removed by doctors) after a motorbike accident when he was 19. He trained as an athlete and won the 100 metres bronze medal in the Beijing Paralympic Games in 2008, before becoming a surgeon. In 2022, he was chosen to take part in ESA’s study “Fly!”, which looks at the challenges that could face astronauts with a physical disability. The study examined 80 challenges in total, including what impact a space launch would have on McFall’s prosthetic (artificial) leg. The study showed that an astronaut with McFall’s disability could safely…

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The Week Junior (UK) (Digital) - 1 Issue, 480

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