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ESA Names Astronaut Candidate With a Physical Disability, in a First

«Science is for everyone,» Paralympian and surgical trainee John McFall says. «And space travel, hopefully, can be for everyone.»

John McFall is a trauma and orthopedic surgical trainee in England. In 2014, he graduated with a bachelor of medicine and surgery degree from the Cardiff University School of Medicine, and until 2016, was a doctor with the British National Health Service.

Married with three children, the 41-year-old McFall spends his free time running and mountain biking – and now he’s been selected by the European Space Agency to be the first astronaut candidate in history with a physical disability.

«I’ve always been hugely interested in science, generally, and space exploration has always been on my radar,» McFall said in a video interview with ESA. «But having had a motorcycle accident when I was 19 –like wanting to join the armed forces –having a disability was always a contraindication to doing that.»

Following that motorcycle accident, which occurred in the early 2000s, McFall had to have his right leg amputated.

The astronaut candidate roster released by ESA Wednesday includes eight women, or nearly half the total pool. The 17 members of the 2022 roster consists of five career astronauts, 11 members of an astronaut reserve and McFall himself, part of the «parastronaut» program.

«This ESA astronaut class is bringing ambition, talent and diversity in many different forms – to drive our endeavors, and our future,» ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said in a statement. «The continuous exploration in low Earth orbit on the International Space Station, going forward to the Moon – and beyond.»

McFall’s amputation didn’t stop him from learning to walk, and even run, again.

He became a professional track and field athlete in 2005, representing Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a Paralympic sprinter – and has been crowned with titles including Paralympic World Cup Champion, 200 meters, in 2007 and World Silver Medalist, 100 meters, in 2006. McFall also took prizes in anatomy and dissection during medical school and was runner-up in 2018 for the Queen Alexandra Hospital Junior Doctor Awards.

So when ESA announced last year that it was looking for astronaut applicants who have a disability but are otherwise qualified for space expeditions –a «parastronaut,» the agency dubs the position –McFall jumped at the opportunity.

«For the parastronaut feasibility project,» the agency stated during its open call, «ESA is looking for individual(s) who are psychologically, cognitively, technically and professionally qualified to be an astronaut but have a physical disability that would normally prevent them from being selected due to the requirements imposed by the use of current space hardware.»

The goal, according to ESA, is to invest in learning how to enable a more diverse pool of space explorers for the next generation of extraterrestrial science.

It’s a timely aspiration with talk of settling Mars in the near future and planting more boot prints on the moon with NASA’s Artemis program, now well underway. In an overview of the endeavor, the organization says it intends to allocate an initial budget of 1 million euros ($1.039 million) for this project, directed toward understanding what kinds of tools and technical adjustments would help a parastronaut thrive both in zero-gravity environments and during the intense journey beyond Earth.

«I read the persons specification and what it entailed,» McFall said of seeing the application for the first time, «I thought I would be a very good candidate to help ESA answer the question they were asking: Can we get someone with a physical disability into space?»

Together with international partners and crew vehicle providers, ESA plans to work with McFall to identify potential adaptations that’ll eventually enable an astronaut with a physical disability to fly to space and partake in important science investigations. They’ll likely examine things such as how prosthetic limbs operate off-Earth, how exercise would work for someone with an amputated limb and perhaps whether some structural modifications can create better access for a disabled person to float around the ISS.

«If there is one thing we have learned by working on the International Space Station (ISS), it is that there is great value in diversity,» ESA said in its overview. «Including people with special needs also means benefiting from their extraordinary experience, ability to adapt to difficult environments, and point of view.»

In the same vein, McFall said he’s excited about using his skills at problem solving, identifying issues and overcoming obstacles to help people with a physical disability perform jobs as do their counterparts without a disability.

«Science is for everyone,» McFall said. «And space travel, hopefully, can be for everyone.»

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 27, #430

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 27, No. 430.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Fittingly, today’s Thanksgiving Day Connections: Sports Edition is mostly about football (although the yellow category covers all sports, really). If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Grab some points.

Green group hint: Pass the turkey.

Blue group hint: Face your big rival.

Purple group hint: Playing with letters in team names.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Places where one scores.

Green group: Associated with the NFL on Thanksgiving.

Blue group: College football rivalry «cups.»

Purple group: NFL teams, with the first letter changed.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is places where one scores. The four answers are end zone, goal, hoop and plate.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with the NFL on Thanksgiving. The four answers are Cowboys, Lions, Madden and Turducken.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is college football rivalry «cups.» The four answers are Apple, Commonwealth, Governor’s and Territorial.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL teams, with the first letter changed. The four answers are fills (Bills), Mets (Jets), pears (Bears) and yams (Rams).

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Nov. 27

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 27.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

It’s Thanksgiving, but I wasn’t too thankful for today’s Mini Crossword. It took me nearly four minutes to solve and has some very tricky clues. Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal
Answer: FEASTED

8A clue: Back half of a GOAT?
Answer: ALLTIME

9A clue: Sudden urge
Answer: IMPULSE

10A clue: Santa’s landing place
Answer: ROOF

11A clue: Abstain from eating
Answer: FAST

15A clue: Tough guy
Answer: BRUISER

18A clue: Ready to use without further assembly
Answer: TURNKEY

19A clue: Some pieces of [circled letters] at the Thanksgiving table
Answer: WINGS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Inside the foul line, in baseball
Answer: FAIR

2D clue: Furry monster with a falsetto
Answer: ELMO

3D clue: Pet food brand
Answer: ALPO

4D clue: Thanksgiving side dish that can fill the [circled letters]
Answer: STUFFING

5D clue: Shop ___ you drop
Answer: TIL

6D clue: M M M M
Answer: EMS

7D clue: Billy ___ Williams, actor who played Lando Calrissian in «Star Wars»
Answer: DEE

12D clue: Requests
Answer: ASKS

13D clue: «Get what I’m saying?»
Answer: SEE

14D clue: Give it a go
Answer: TRY

15D clue: «I should mention …,» for short
Answer: BTW

16D clue: N.B.A. power forward ___ Hachimura
Answer: RUI

17D clue: Large coffee dispenser
Answer: URN

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Technologies

I Found This Refurbished iPhone 15 for Just $449 at Woot This Black Friday

This used model is pristine and an unbeatable $281 off its list price.

Apple makes some of the best phones on the market right now, but their price tags make a lot of buyers wince. However, now that the new is out, you can save on refurbished previous-gen phones such as the iPhone 15. If you want to save as much as possible, then this Woot deal is one you want want to miss out on. You can make a refurbished 128GB iPhone 15 yours for just $449 when you use the coupon code GRAVY. This deal is available today only, so it’s especially important to act fast.

There are a few things you should know about this Woot offer before you place your order. Woot classifies these phones as «pristine,» which means that they’ve «never been in customer hands» and have been tested and ensured to have 100% battery life. They do come backed by a one-year limited warranty, but are not eligible for AppleCare and will not come in the original box. Also note that there’s only a single configuration available, which comes in black and has 128GB of storage.

As for the specs, you’ll get everything that made the iPhone 15 so popular when it launched in Sept. 2023, including a large 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with the Dynamic Island built in. The fast A16 Bionic chip has a 5-core GPU while the 48-megapixel main camera takes stunning photos. Emergency SOS via Satellite is included, should you find yourself in need of rescue beyond the reach of cellular connectivity as well.

If you’re not sure if this previous-gen model is for you, you can check out our list of all the best iPhone 17 deals for savings on Apple’s latest phones. You can also find plenty of other deals on the iPhone 15 and other previous-gen models in our full roundup of all the best iPhone deals.

MOBILE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

Direct discounts on iPhones are exceedingly rare, so shopping refurbished is one of the only ways to score some savings without signing up with a carrier. This iPhone 15 is essentially new, but at just $449 you’re still getting it for around the same price as a used model, making this an incredible bargain.

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