Big space travel news out of Paris this week: Greece finally has its own astronaut. At an international space summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis, officials confirmed that Adrianos Golemis — a 40-year-old physician, ESA reserve astronaut, and holder of a master’s in space science from Strasbourg — will become the first Greek national to fly to orbit. He’s assigned to PAM-6, a private astronaut mission organized by Vast with ESA and NASA, launching on a SpaceX Crew Dragon no earlier than summer 2027 for a two-week stint on the International Space Station, where he’ll run experiments for Greek research institutions alongside French commander Thomas Pesquet and Czech pilot Aleš Svoboda.
There is something almost too on-the-nose about a country that spent a few thousand years writing myths about mortals sneaking rides with the gods finally just… buying a real one. No wax wings, no Icarus problem, just a confirmed crew slot and an actual rocket. Golemis gets a launch date. We, respectfully, still do not.
It’s also a nice reminder of how crowded the space tourism guest list is getting. This isn’t NASA or SpaceX flexing for the hundredth time — it’s a mid-sized country with 18 satellites already in orbit deciding it wants a human up there too, riding along on commercial hardware built by a company most people have never heard of. That’s the actual headline: getting to space increasingly just requires paperwork, funding, and a good doctor, which is either encouraging or terrifying depending on how you feel about paperwork.
We obviously can’t sell you a seat next to Golemis — our space tickets remain entirely fictional, non-transferable, and unbothered by launch windows. But every real astronaut announcement makes our little satire site feel slightly more like it’s reporting from the future instead of just making fun of it.
Keep your carry-on light and your expectations lighter. See you at the (imaginary) gate.