ΕΑΝ ΠΡΟΤΙΜΑΤΕ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΤΗ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ ΣΤΟ ΚΑΤΩ ΜΕΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΘΟΝΗΣ
PHOTO: Adrianos Golemis (left), the first Greek Astronaut
The ESA flight surgeon is poised to become the first Greek citizen in space, marking a milestone for Greece’s rapidly expanding space program.
By Helleniscope’s Editorial Team
Greece is preparing for a historic first in human spaceflight. Dr. Adrianos Golemis, a Greek physician and European Space Agency flight surgeon, has been selected to participate in a private mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2027. If the mission proceeds as planned, Golemis will become the first Greek citizen to travel into space. The announcement was made on September 9, 2026, at the International Space Summit in Paris, where Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis appeared alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.
Golemis will serve as a mission specialist on the flight organized by the American commercial space company Vast in cooperation with ESA and NASA. He is expected to join French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who will command the mission, and Czech ESA Project Astronaut Aleš Svoboda, who will serve as pilot. A fourth crew member has yet to be announced. The crew will travel aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. NASA currently targets the mission for no earlier than summer 2027, while the Greek government places it in the second half of the year. The stay aboard the ISS is expected to last up to 14 days.
Golemis brings an extensive background in space medicine to the mission. He studied medicine at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and later completed postgraduate studies at the International Space University in Strasbourg. His career has included research into human physiology and psychology in extreme environments, including work at the Concordia research station in Antarctica. Since 2018, he has worked as an ESA flight surgeon supporting astronauts before, during, and after space missions.
The mission is intended to be more than a symbolic journey. Mitsotakis said Golemis will conduct scientific experiments aboard the ISS and could inspire young Greeks to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The announcement also reflects Greece’s wider effort to build a national space sector. According to the prime minister, Greece now has 18 satellites in orbit and is developing domestic satellite-manufacturing capabilities.
One qualification remains important. Golemis’s participation is still subject to approval by the International Space Station’s Multilateral Crew Operations Panel, representing NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency. Therefore, he has not yet become the first Greek in space; rather, he is formally set to become Greece’s first astronaut once the mission and crew receive final approval and the flight takes place.
