Greece is preparing to send its first astronaut to the International Space Station, with launch expected within the next...

Greece is preparing to send its first astronaut to the International Space Station, with launch expected within the next two years. The mission will last up to three weeks and forms part of Greece's National Space Strategy, which runs to 2035. The astronaut in question is Adrianos Folegandros Golemis, a doctor and trained space medicine specialist currently undergoing astronaut training. During his mission, he will carry out experiments and technology demonstrations proposed by dozens of Greek research teams, universities, and companies, giving Greek firms a rare chance to test innovative solutions under actual space conditions. A government meeting this week brought together Digital Governance and AI Minister Dimitris Papastergiou, Secretary General for Telecommunications Konstantinos Karantzalos, and Golemis to map out the details of the mission. Officials discussed how the data collected aboard the ISS could be fed back into Greek research and used to build new international partnerships. The mission also has an education component. Planners are looking at a student satellite-building competition, STEM contests, and a program that would let schoolchildren submit questions directly to astronauts on the ISS. Greece joins the ISS crew rotation at a moment when European space ambitions are expanding, and the mission is framed as a direct investment in the country's scientific and technological capacity for the decade ahead. #Greece #Space #ISS