Elloy’s PhD at King’s College London on the origin of black holes throughout the early universe. But despite his involvement in space, he never dreamed of becoming an astronaut. He only started thinking about it when he read that the ESA was looking for people. “Then I thought: It actually sounds like a pretty cool job.”
no illusions
What are his chances? He has no illusions about that. Eloy has some pluses: He has a background in physics and has lived abroad for a long time. But during the previous application process, in 2008, only six out of 8,413 candidates were recruited.
“I expect that many suitable people have signed up now. So even if you are already an above-average candidate, you still have a great opportunity. But I won’t let the small opportunity pass me by.”
Watching her from round to round. “It’s a bit like the European Championship,” laughs. Match Match. He does not want to think about what he will do with his PhD research if he is hired. “It’s premature. The selection procedure is going to take a while; I still have six rounds to go through before that time. So I’ll see when it comes down to that.”
dream in front of the window
There are a few things he would look forward to if he was set. “It’s a beautiful work. I believe you can make a valuable contribution to scientific research. And in between you can dream far in front of the window.” Being “locked up” on the space station doesn’t appeal to him too much. “That’s definitely going to be hard sometimes. But you have to weigh that against the benefits, and they definitely win.”
In any case, he has the support of his environment during the process. “The people I’ve shared with are amazed. I think it’s because it’s a business that seems so far-fetched. But most of all, they really like it and really hope I can be. Dating in space is of course always a good story at parties.”
Among the other Dutch applicants is journalist Anna Gembrier. She told Jenk in February that she had long wished to become an astronaut. “I’m 35 now,” she said at the time. “So this might be my only chance.” Watch her story in this video:
