Greece is asking the public to help name its first-ever astronaut mission to the International Space Station, and the de...

Greece is asking the public to help name its first-ever astronaut mission to the International Space Station, and the deadline is October 30. The Hellenic Space Center and the Ministry of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence launched the open call this week, inviting anyone to submit a name for the mission that will carry Adrianos Golemis, Greece's first ESA astronaut, to the ISS in the summer of 2027. Golemis will spend roughly two weeks aboard the station conducting scientific experiments for Greek and European research institutions. The mission is part of the VAST-PAM-1 commercial flight, organized by US aerospace company Vast in cooperation with ESA and NASA. It is expected to use a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket, pending crew approval from the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel. The planned crew also includes French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet as commander and Czech ESA project astronaut Ales Svoboda as pilot. Golemis, a 39-year-old physician from Larissa, is no stranger to extreme environments. He spent 14 months at the Concordia research station in Antarctica between 2013 and 2015, has worked as a flight surgeon supporting ESA astronauts, and is also an amateur astronomer, scuba diver and licensed private pilot. He joined ESA as a project astronaut on September 1, 2026, making him the first Greek citizen to begin training at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne. In a video posted by the Hellenic Space Center, Golemis said the name should reflect Greek cultural identity, scientific exploration and the spirit of international cooperation. Proposed names must be short, easy to pronounce in both Greek and English, and appealing to younger audiences. Personal names are off-limits unless they belong to widely recognized mythological figures. The Hellenic Space Center and Golemis will make the final selection, and the chosen name may be adjusted for compatibility with ESA, Vast and NASA. Proposals can be submitted in Greek or English through the Hellenic Space Center's official website until October 30 at 11:59 p.m. Athens time. #Greece #Space #AdrianosGolemis