Adrianos Golemis first Greek to succeed in ESA test for astronauts

Golemis has passed the European Space Agency test to become an astronaut, making him the first Greek to do so.

Transcript

00:00 Andrianos Gilemis has become the first Greek to succeed in the European Space Agency test

00:06 for astronaut selection. Gilemis is one of 25 that passed all six stages out of 22,500

00:13 applicants. Since 2018, he has been working at the ESA as a doctor.

00:21 Our body has been made, it has been adapted in an impressive way to survive on Earth.

00:26 When we leave Earth, where gravity exists, and all the protection of our planet,

00:31 we pose a new danger. So a body that is made to survive perfectly on Earth,

00:36 we take it out of Earth and it suffers, at least for a few days.

00:39 So we have seasickness, fever, all these symptoms that we expect, we know.

00:44 We see that some astronauts who stay in space for six months and more usually,

00:48 begin to develop some vision problems. Those who develop them while returning,

00:52 some will survive on Earth, for some it will remain for a lifetime.

00:56 The second is the seizures, which we believe that a healthy body does not have seizures,

01:01 but we see that in environments without gravity and with all these difficult

01:05 survival conditions it can happen.

01:07 Gilemis says that space exploration is hugely beneficial to everyday life.

01:11 We have a system of life support for space and someone can use it for a shelter.

01:16 An experiment I did in Antarctica and it has been done in space is a material experiment.

01:21 That is, which material is more resistant to bacteria and/or this,

01:28 we did it in space because the hospital is falling.

01:31 But when you find which material is the best, you put it in the hospital

01:34 and you avoid one patient from infecting the other.

01:36 He encourages other applicants to apply for the test.

01:41 When I was younger, I thought that the work I do now, as an astronaut doctor,

01:46 is something exotic. It is not for Greeks, it is not for me, it is for individuals.

01:52 It does not work. It takes effort, persistence and of course a call and I think we can find it there.

01:57 Yes. Yes.

02:00 [Whoosh]