Greece's First Astronaut Will Fly to the ISS in 2027

ESA has signed an agreement with Vast to send Dr. Adrianos Golemis, Greece's first astronaut, to the International Space Station on a 2027 private mission.

At the International Space Summit in Paris on September 9, 2026, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis joined French President Emmanuel Macron on stage to announce that the European Space Agency, acting on behalf of Greece, has signed an agreement with US space company Vast for a private astronaut mission to the International Space Station in partnership with NASA. The mission is expected to be Greece's first crewed spaceflight, sending the first Greek citizen into orbit. Subject to review by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP), Dr. Adrianos Golemis, an ESA flight surgeon, will serve as Mission Specialist. Pending approval, he becomes the first Greek astronaut to conduct a mission aboard the ISS.

Golemis is expected to fly alongside ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet of France, who has been named Commander, and ESA Project Astronaut Aleš Svoboda of the Czech Republic, slated as Pilot. The mission's final crew member will be announced soon, with training beginning shortly after. SpaceX will provide transportation aboard a Dragon spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket. The press release names the flight Vast-PAM-1, the sixth private astronaut mission to the station, while Tovima reports the mission as PAM-6, with launch scheduled for the second half of 2027 and no earlier than summer 2027 according to Tovima.

Dr. Adrianos Golemis studied medicine at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and completed a Master of Space Sciences at the International Space University in Strasbourg. In 2014 he spent a year in Antarctica running European experiments on human physiology and psychology under total isolation, and later worked with the French Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology, MEDES, on studies simulating the body's challenges in space. Since 2018 he has served as an ESA flight surgeon, applied to ESA's 2022 astronaut selection, and since 2026 has been taking part in ESA's Astronaut Reserve Training. Tovima describes him as a 40-year-old physician born in Larissa.

The announcement is striking because, as Mitsotakis told the summit, Greece had no presence in space until a few years ago and lacked both a space program and a national space strategy. According to Tovima, the Prime Minister said Greece now has 18 satellites in orbit, is developing its own satellite manufacturing ecosystem, and is bringing Greek space-sector professionals back to the country.ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher called it "a historic moment for Greece: a national ambition becoming a concrete human spaceflight mission," adding that Greece's increased investment strengthens its space sector and creates opportunities for a new generation of scientists and engineers.

Greek Digital Governance and AI Minister Dimitris Papastergiou said the mission results from a sustained national effort through Greece's National Space Strategy, significant investment in ESA, and the mobilization of Greek industry and research. The flight will create opportunities for Greek scientific experiments and technology demonstrations in areas including medicine, human physiology, agri-food, materials and sensors, according to the minister. "Most importantly, we want this mission to inspire a new generation of Greek students to pursue careers in science, technology and engineering," he said, and Mitsotakis added that Golemis should inspire Greek children to "dream again" and move away from screens.

The mission is planned for 2027, pending MCOP approval reached by consensus among representatives of all five space station partners: NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. One of the first preparation steps takes Golemis to the US in September, where teams from Vast, SpaceX and NASA will train him on the Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft, emergency preparedness, spacesuit and ingress/eggress exercises, and full simulations. The announcement also builds momentum for Vast, which expects its Haven-1 station to become the world's first commercial space station when it launches in 2027, with ESA astronaut Arnaud Prost announced in June 2026 to serve on its first crewed mission and flight acceptance test, according to the press release. SpaceNews notes the flight comes as Europe discusses developing its own human spaceflight capabilities.