At the age of 19, John McFall His right leg was amputated above the knee following a motorcycle accident, after which he thought he would never walk again. Fast forward more than two decades, he is now on the verge of becoming the first physically disabled person in space.
McFaul, 45, is a British surgeon and former Paralympic athlete who has won multiple medals T42-class athlete. He joins in 2022 European Space Agency(ESA) fly! ProgramThe purpose of which was to see whether a physically handicapped person could live and work in low Earth orbit. And in February 2025 he became the first member of this program Cleared for possible future missions to space.
More recently, on June 2, the UK government announced that McFaul was selected As a potential member of the first group to live Heaven-1American company Vaast’s upcoming commercial space station, which if launched on time early next year, will be the first of its kind in low Earth orbit.
If everything goes according to plan, the approximately 30-day mission will help answer series of interesting questions About how living in space can be both challenging and rewarding for people with physical disabilities.
Live Science spoke to McFaul about what it would mean to break new ground in space, wearing a prosthetic limb, and how microgravity might uniquely affect him.
Harry Baker: How did it feel to get the news that you could go to space next year?
John McFall: very nice. Very nice, very exciting. And it feels like we’re one step closer to realizing this amazing opportunity and achieving this very exciting milestone in human space exploration.
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HB: What would it mean to you personally to become the first physically disabled astronaut in space?
JM: For me personally, it doesn’t matter. In terms of “what’s the accomplishment for me”, I don’t think about it that way. However, I am keenly aware that the message it gives to wider society that what people are capable of – whether they have a disability or not – is very interesting and powerful. So, if you like, I’m proud to be a small part of that movement and the journey to make society a more tolerant and inclusive place.
McFaul (far right) joins ESA in 2022. This photo shows him with some of his fellow astronauts from the Class of 2022 at an event in Paris the same year.
(Image credit: Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images)
HB: What advantage do you think your disability might give you in space compared to other astronauts?
JM: That’s a good question because we don’t really know. We can hypothesize, but until we actually go into space and conduct some science that is specifically relevant to my disability, we won’t know. But it also has some theoretical benefits.
One is that when you’re in microgravity, there’s a transfer of fluid from your lower body. to your upper body and skull. This can cause swelling of the optic disc, which may temporarily affect vision. This is called Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS), and it affects about 70-75% of astronauts. I would speculate that, by having less lower limb volume to begin with, you would get a proportionally smaller fluid shift in microgravity, relative to your physical ability to process it, thereby reducing the risk of things like SANS.
The second is that in microgravity, because you’re weightless, you’re not using your bones as much, and your body naturally reabsorbs them. So your bones become weak and thin. And a byproduct of that is you have to expel a lot of calcium, and you expel it through urination. this form [calcium] Passing through your renal system, or kidneys, increases your risk of kidney stones in microgravity. So then, initially having less bone mass – but maintaining the same physical ability to metabolically process calcium – potentially results in a lower risk of kidney stones.
Haven-1 is set to be the first commercial space station ever. It will launch in early 2027 and could host its first astronauts, including McFaul, later that year.
(Image credit: ESA/Novespace)
So these are two small-but-imaginary benefits of my special disability in space. But the real answer is that we won’t know until we do the science (i.e. taking urine samples, blood samples, and eye exams in the classroom).
HB: How might space be more challenging for you than other astronauts?
JM: Again, we don’t know. The question is, do you really need both of your lower limbs to stabilize and support yourself while your arms are working? And having two legs is useful in what we call general intravascular operations. [conducted inside the spacecraft]Is it cargo handling, maintenance, those types of things?
When we went through the feasibility initiative, trying to think and work through all these scenarios, we couldn’t really think of any disadvantages other than working a little harder.
HB: Will you wear prostheses in space?
JM: Plans to wear prostheses. We understood very early on that wearing prostheses in spacecraft would be a necessity, primarily at launch. If there were an emergency that required me to exit the spacecraft and descend the crew access arm and move away from the launch site, wearing a prosthetic limb to do so would be ideal.
But in space, we don’t know whether this would be an advantage or necessary for these intravascular activities. Where I would definitely need to use it is on a long term mission where I need to get a lot of exercise. I use a prostheses to exercise on Earth, and I will use a prostheses to exercise in orbit. However, short term missions [like this one] Don’t do this.
McFall won several medals as a T42 category runner, including a bronze medal at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.
(Image credit: Andrew Wong via Getty Images)
The prosthetics I use are modular, so I wear a socket – what’s left of my leg goes in – and then hardware, what we call a terminal device, is attached to the socket. I would imagine always wearing a socket, because that way, you will maintain continuity. But [for] In the terminal device itself, I have a quick-change adapter that you can unplug the device, and you can remove it and so on, put it back in again.
It’s “plug and play” if you like, and [it will allow me to] Assess whether it is useful or not.
HB: Will your prostheses need to be specially made for travel?
JM: Not necessary. We are certifying several artificial hardware items for flight, but they are all what we call “commercial, off-the-shelf items.” So these are products that are widely available.
However, there are some very small changes we need to make to suit the space station environment and the safety requirements of the spacecraft, such as fireproofing tape around parts of the device or changing the hydraulic fluid so that it is less toxic in the event of a leak.
We’re also doing a small amount of redesign in the shape of the foot to make it more ergonomic to interface with things like the rails and straps inside the space station, because you often end up slipping your foot under the rails and straps.
HB: Can anything you learn from your mission help physically disabled people return to Earth?
JM: Yes, I think so, certainly from a prosthetics standpoint. We have made some artificial developments that will benefit other artificial users in the future.
I mentioned this quick-change adapter. We have modified or re-engineered this particular equipment to perform a certain way, which I think will have benefits for a whole range of lower limb amputees. The socket technology – the interface between my stump and the prosthesis – is [also] It will be redesigned and will potentially again have very beneficial applications for lower limb amputations.
McFaul got approval to fly in space last year. Earlier, he had attended the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris (in photo).
(Image credit: Mauro Uzzetto/Nurfoto via Getty Images)
HB: Are you hoping to be selected for more missions in the future? And would you like to be the first person with a physical disability? International Space Station (ISS) or the Moon?
JM: yes of course. I hope we’ll use this opportunity to demonstrate that this is very viable, and I hope it will put me in line for selection for future missions.
I would, in the future, love to potentially spend more time in space, demonstrating that it is possible for a person with a disability to live and work in space and cope with everything that comes with it.
And of course, I would love to go there Moon. You know, as someone with a lower limb disability, when you propose against walking on the moon, it’s quite a powerful statement, and I would love to do that.
Editor’s note: This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.