Astronaut for a Day initiative to land in the Azores for the first time in September - Communication

Secretaria Regional dos Assuntos Parlamentares e Comunidades

The Regional Government is teaming up with the Portuguese Space Agency's Astronaut for a Day initiative, which will take off this year from Santa Maria Island Airport.

The 2025 edition of the Astronaut for a Day initiative will take place between September 18 and 21 on the island of Santa Maria. The local airport will be the venue for the zero-gravity flight that will take 30 Portuguese students on a unique experience of floating like astronauts.

The initiative, which has already taken 91 young people to defy gravity, gains a new partner this year with the involvement of the Regional Government, which hosts and supports the final phase of the programme.

During the final three days of the flight, the 30 finalists will participate in group dynamic activities and training sessions. These will take place on the island of Santa Maria and at the headquarters of the Portuguese Space Agency in Vila do Porto.

These sessions aim to broaden knowledge about the national space sector and encourage teamwork.

“In hosting the Astronaut for a Day initiative, promoted by the Portuguese Space Agency, the Azores are renewing their ambition to increasingly establish themselves as an important strategic point in promoting space among our young people, who are the future of regional, national and European space ecosystems,” stressed José Manuel Bolieiro, President of the Regional Government.

The Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, Paulo Estêvão, who is responsible for coordinating matters related to space projects, attended last year's edition of the Astronaut for a Day initiative in Beja, where he encouraged the organisation to hold the event in the Azores.

“The Government of the Azores has conveyed to the organisation the Region’s willingness to host the event. In addition to this, the fourth edition of the European Symposium of NEREUS Regions, linked to space technologies, will also be held in the Azores this year,” the government official continued, addressing various initiatives in this area of governance.

For Ricardo Conde, President of the Portuguese Space Agency, “bringing Astronaut for a Day to Santa Maria is more than a logistical choice — it is a commitment to territorial cohesion and the active involvement of autonomous regions in establishing Portugal as a space nation.”

The 2025 edition of Astronaut for a Day received over 500 applications from all regions of the country, revealing a female majority for the first time.

After a demanding selection process, featuring spatial perception and memory tests, physical fitness assessments and interviews, 30 finalists were chosen, including students from the Azores and Madeira.

Astronaut for a Day also has the support of the Armed Forces, through the Portuguese Air Force, Ciência Viva, the Faculty of Education and Psychology of the University of Porto, and the Faculty of Human Kinetics of the University of Lisbon.