The European Space Agency made history Wednesday by selecting an amputee who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident to be among its newest batch of astronauts — a leap toward its pioneering ambition to send someone with a physical disability into space.John McFall, a 41-year-old Briton who lost his right leg when he was 19 and went on to compete in the Paralympics, called his selection at Europe&s answer to NASA &a real turning point and mark in history.&&ESA has a commitment to send an astronaut with a physical disability into space … This is the first time that a space agency has endeavored to embark on a project like this.

And it sends a really, really strong message to humanity,& he said.The newly-minted parastronaut joins five career astronauts in the final selection unveiled during a Paris news conference — the conclusion of the agency&s first recruitment drive in over a decade aimed at bringing diversity to space travel, associated Press reported.The list also included two women: France&s Sophie Adenot and the UK&s Rosemary Coogan, new ambassadors for another greatly underrepresented section for European astronauts.

A small minority of those who have explored space have been women, and most of those were Americans. ESA&s Director of Human and Robotic Exploration David Parker said it was still a &long road& for McFall but described the fresh recruitment as a long-held ambition.Parker said it started with a question.

&Maybe there are people out there that are almost superhuman in that they&ve already overcome challenges.

And could they become astronauts?&Parker also says that he &thinks& it may be the first time the word ¶stronaut& has been used, but &I do not claim ownership.&&We&re saying that John (McFall) could be the first parastronaut, that means someone who has been selected by the regular astronaut selection process but happens to have a disability that would normally have ruled him out,& he said.It will be at least five years before McFall goes into space as an astronaut — if he is successful.The post Europe&s space agency gets 1st ‘parastronaut& first appeared on Ariana News.