MELBOURNE: John McFall’s children are excited. Not because their father has just been selected for a groundbreaking space mission, but because he has promised them a dog when he blasts off.

“I may have at some point mentioned that if I go to space they can have a dog,” said the Briton aiming to become the first disabled astronaut.

“So unfortunately, my youngest is quite fixated on that. She doesn’t care that I go to space, the only reason she wants me to go to space is so she can get a dog.”

He also said his demanding job in the NHS had “toughened him up” for the challenges of space.

This week, the UK Space Agency announced it was teaming up with Vast, the Californian space habitation company, to raise funds for a mission to send Mr McFall to Haven-1, its new space station which is scheduled to launch next year.

The father of three, 45, who was born in Surrey and grew up in Somerset, had part of his right leg amputated when he was 19 after a motorbike accident.

Two years ago, he was cleared to go into space after a two-year feasibility study concluded that his prosthetic leg would not stop him carrying out all his duties and materials in the leg would not poison the air of any module he was in.

After learning to run again, he became a professional athlete, winning bronze at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics in the 100m T42 event, and later training as a surgeon.

Mr McFall has been living with his wife and three children in Cologne, Germany, where the European Space Agency’s centre for astronaut training is based, but will move back to Britain to continue his work as a trauma and orthopaedic specialist registrar in the NHS in Portsmouth in September.

He believes the NHS is the perfect proving ground for working in space.

“Studying medicine and working as a doctor is tough and going through that process, really does prepare you for working in harsh environments, working under duress, long hours, working irregular hours,” he said.

“Having stepped out of medicine for a period of time, and looking back and reflecting, it has stood me in enormously good stead for the journey ahead, and makes me incredibly proud to be a doctor and a surgeon.

“Every astronaut should go and work in the NHS.”

His medical training also makes him the perfect candidate for trying out procedures in space that have never been attempted.

In microgravity, astronauts suffer from a condition called space-associated neuro-ocular syndrome, as fluid in the body rises, leading to swelling in the optic nerve and damaging vision.

“Really, the only way to fully understand the pressure changes is to potentially do a lumbar puncture, or spinal tap, so having someone who is medically trained to be able to do that is unique,” said Mr McFall.

“When you think about where we will be in 50 to 100 years from now, when we are exploring deeper space, we are going to want to provide medical and surgical services, so I am certainly interested in looking at surgery in space as a possibility in the future.”

If funding can be found, Mr McFall will be conducting pioneering research into human physiology, prosthetics in microgravity, and movement in low Earth orbit.

The findings could have significant benefits for disabled people on Earth, such as the design of lighter, more adaptable prosthetics.

The mission is dependent on finding sponsors, which could include pharma or engineering companies looking to carry out experiments in microgravity, or firms keen to secure product placement in space.

It would make Mr McFall not just the first disabled working astronaut, but the first commercial astronaut, his spacesuit perhaps carrying branding of sponsors, similar to Formula 1 racing drivers.

And after low Earth orbit, Mr McFall has his sights set on the Moon.

“Hopefully, the next possible destination. I’d love to go,” he said.

“When you talk about physical disability, especially the disability I have, a lower limb amputation, the sentence ‘to walk on the Moon’, what would that mean for someone with an ambulatory disability, walking on the Moon!”

For now, family life is keeping him firmly grounded and despite his astronaut status, and multiple medals, he says it is his wife, son and two daughters that make him the most proud.

“It’s funny, my children go to a school where, at one time, there were four astronauts who were parents there. For them it’s kind of normal,” he said.

“But I’m most proud of my family. I think having a family and raising a family is probably the greatest challenge, because it requires day in, day out consistency and attention and thought, and yeah, it’s harder than space, definitely.”

The initial Haven-1 mission will see four crews or four astronauts visiting the space station for two-week periods. They will travel there on a SpaceX Crew Dragon.

The UK Space Agency is also hoping to carry out an all-British mission with Axiom Space, which could be led by Tim Peake, the British former astronaut.

Next week, Nasa will announce which astronauts have been selected for next year’s Artemis III mission, which will test the landers for the return to the lunar surface.

“There’s definitely a real buzz around the astronaut centre at the moment, because there is a lot going on in human space flight,” added Mr McFall, who hopes that his story can inspire disabled people to follow their dreams.

“I followed something that was very innate in me. It was an inner passion, an inner curiosity, an inner drive to explore.

“So what I would say is throw yourself into whatever you are passionate about, and it’s not about achieving, it’s about knowing yourself and understanding yourself, and that comes through exploring, finding out what it really makes you tick, what you’re interested in, and challenging yourself.

“Achievement isn’t as binary as winning or losing medals, or going into space. It’s about what you are most proud of in your life.”