ESA Astronauts Train for First Private Space Station Mission

ESA astronauts have begun training for the Vast-PAM-1 mission, the first crewed flight to a commercial space station, as the International Space Station moves toward retirement. The agency is also expanding ties with Axiom Space, Starlab and Vast while investigating a potential European-led orbital outpost.

The International Space Station has served as a continuously crewed home in space for more than 25 years and is now entering its final operational phase.

ESA is preparing for the post-ISS period by investing in future research infrastructure, autonomous science platforms and new ways to conduct experiments in orbit.

The agency has signed partnership agreements with Axiom Space, Starlab and Vast for commercial orbital destinations; the Vast arrangement covers private astronaut missions and research opportunities on behalf of the Czech Republic and Greece.

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, Czech astronaut Aleš Svoboda and Greek astronaut Adrianos Golemis are assigned to Vast-PAM-1, the first private mission to Vast's Haven-1 commercial station. Training for the mission has started.

ESA has commissioned studies into the feasibility of a European-led orbital outpost and is advancing the ALADDIN project, which aims to demonstrate a European cargo transportation capability to low Earth orbit.

The Exploration Company holds a service development contract with ESA for the Nyx cargo vehicle, designed to carry cargo.

ESA is also exploring future crew transportation capabilities for low Earth orbit, with a concept currently under consideration.

For the lunar industry, ESA's commercial station partnerships and its push for indigenous cargo and crew transport are telling signals. The companies and technologies that will maintain a European presence in low Earth orbit—such as Axiom Space—often share supply chains and engineering heritage with cislunar and lunar surface systems. These moves build the industrial base and experience that any deep-space ambition, including lunar exploration, will require.

ESA is the European Space Agency, an intergovernmental organisation that coordinates space activities among its member states. Axiom Space is a private US company developing commercial space station modules.