Credit: Novespace
The French space agency CNES has announced that it has expanded its “Astronaut for a Day” programme following a successful pilot that was limited to schools in the Toulouse, Montpellier, and Île-de-France districts.
CNES launched its “Astronaut for a Day” initiative in 2025, giving eighth-grade students the chance to take part in a simulated European astronaut selection process, with successful candidates earning a microgravity experience aboard a parabolic flight. The initiative closely mirrors the “Astronaut for a Day” programme run by the Portuguese Space Agency since 2022 and the Luxembourg Space Agency since 2023.
The pilot phase of the CNES “Astronaut for a Day” initiative ran from March to June 2024, with over 760 students from the Toulouse, Montpellier, and Île-de-France school districts applying. At the end of the process, five students earned the chance to experience weightlessness aboard a parabolic flight operated by Novespace, a subsidiary of CNES.
“Choosing this experience was a natural decision: the status of an astronaut fascinates and attracts, and it has the rare ability to bring students together around a common goal,” said Evelyne Cortiade, Head of Youth Programmes at CNES, in a statement to European Spaceflight. “It is an exceptional way to stimulate their curiosity, engagement, and passion for scientific exploration.”
With the 2026 edition, the agency has opened the application process to learners across France, and more than 2,500 applications were received. The students will now go through a series of three “theory tests” between December 2025 and March 2026. On 16 March, CNES will announce the finalists, who will then go through the “Astrosport” tests, which the agency has described as a new in-person team challenge. On 17 June, 30 students will be selected to experience weightlessness aboard a Novespace parabolic flight.
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