The Portuguese Space Agency has announced that its Astronaut for a Day initiative has reached a key diversity milestone, attracting more female applicants than male applicants for the first time.
Launched in 2022, the Astronaut for a Day initiative is open to primary and secondary school students aged 14 to 18. Through a multi-stage selection process modelled after the European Space Agency’s astronaut recruitment, 30 finalists are chosen to experience weightlessness on a parabolic flight.
The 2025 edition of the Astronaut for a Day initiative attracted 545 applicants, with the largest number coming from the capital, Lisbon, followed by Porto and Setúbal. While this figure falls short of last year’s 632 applications, this year marks a milestone, as it is the first time in the initiative’s history that female applicants (279) have outnumbered male applicants (266). Marta Gonçalves, the Education and Science Programme Manager at the Portuguese Space Agency, explained that this milestone is “something that shouldn’t go unnoticed.”
“These figures not only reflect the Agency’s work in favour of equal access to opportunities in the area of space but also show the growing interest of young Portuguese women in STEM,” said Gonçalves.
The majority of applicants (344) were from grades 10 and 11, with 146 from grade 9 and 55 from grade 8.
“At this stage, these young people decide what area they would like to pursue, whether in high school or higher education,” said Gonçalves. “That’s why making them realise that space is not an unattainable area and that it offers countless opportunities and possibilities is fundamental.”
The Portuguese Space Agency plans to send all applicants an invitation to the second round on 21 March. In this phase, applicants will complete the Memory, Speed, and Space Rationale test. A total of 100 applicants will proceed to the next round, where they will undergo a physical test. The final stage will include 50 applicants and will be the interview phase of the selection process. Following this, 30 finalists will be selected for the parabolic flight, which is currently expected to take place on 21 September.
