Despite the fact that Britain is not involved in ESA's human space exploration program, having always preferred investing in the robotic exploration of the solar system, officials in London are eagerly waiting to see if one of their compatriots will be selected as one of the six new recruits that the continent's space agency is gathering for future missions to the International Space Station, the BBC News reports. Competition for the honor of being called an ESA astronauts was stiff, with more than 8,000 people submitting their applications for consideration.

If a British citizen is selected into the program, his or her acceptance couldn't come at a better time. At this point, ESA is considering a number of breakthrough advancements in space exploration, including turning its Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cargo ship into a manned spacecraft, and even going to the Moon in a few years. In addition, the future British astronaut may have the chance to fly to the ISS under a national flag. Thus far, all of the three astronauts that the UK sent to orbit flew under the American flag, which did little to boost the country's self-esteem.

“We're looking for additional European astronauts. These are young candidates. I must say I found a very high level of expertise and capability. We started with 8,400, so you can imagine how tough it was. I'm really proud of what I saw in the last few weeks,” ESA's Director of Human Spaceflight, Simonetta Di Pippo, told the news agency in an interview, and also refused to share the names or nationalities of the finalists in the contest. Almost 17 years have passed since the last astronaut selection process took place in Europe, so the wait is very tense. Countries that will have members sent to space will gain an advantage over the others and prestige in the eyes of all space-capable nations on Earth.

In charge of all civil space activities for the UK is the British National Space Center (BNSC), which is nothing more than a voluntary partnership of ten British government departments and agencies, as well as a few research councils. Its main areas of expertise are space sciences, Earth observations, satellite telecommunications, and global navigation systems, including participation to the GPS system and the Galileo mission. The BNSC is the second-largest ESA funder, cooperating with the space agency on both its Science and Aurora (robotic exploration of the solar system) programs.