John has a background in sports and exercise science. He completed his bachelor’s degree from Swansea University, UK, in 2004, and his master’s degree from University of Wales Institute in Cardiff, UK, in 2005. In 2014, John graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the Cardiff University School of Medicine, UK. He became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 2016 and is currently a Trauma and Orthopaedic Specialist Registrar working in the south of England. Following a motorcycle accident that resulted in the amputation of his right leg at the age of 19, John learned to run again. He became a professional track and field athlete in 2005, going on to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a Paralympic sprinter, class T42.
The European Space Agency is an intergovernmental organisation of 22 member states. Established in 1975 and headquartered in Paris, France, ESA has a worldwide staff of about 2,000 employees. ESA's space flight programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station program); the launch and operation of unmanned exploration missions to other planets and the Moon; Earth observation, science and telecommunication; designing launch vehicles; and maintaining a major spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana.