Aleš Svoboda, from Czech Republic, is a member of the ESA Astronaut Class of 2022. In this interview, he/she talks about the reasons that motivated him/her to apply for the position and his/her passion for space exploration.

Aleš Svoboda is one of the more than 22 500 candidates who submitted a valid application in 2021 in response to ESA’s call for new astronauts for missions to the International Space Station and beyond.

ESA’s new class of astronauts includes career astronauts, members for the astronaut reserve and astronauts with a physical disability for a feasibility project. They will start a 12-month basic training at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in spring 2023.

Watch the other ESA Astronaut Class 2022 videos.

Access the related broadcast quality footage.