Thomas Pesquet will return to space. The French astronaut is preparing for a new adventure aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The idol of French astronomy enthusiasts said he was " very enthusiastic" at the idea of taking off this time with an American vessel. Franceinfo summarizes what you need to know about this new mission.
👉When should it take off?
The Alpha mission is scheduled for the end of March 2021, or around nine months. Thomas Pesquet is due to fly from Cape Canaveral in Florida, along with three other crew members, his American counterparts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, as well as the Japanese Aki Hoshide. They are all veterans, like him.
The Frenchman's space trip aboard the ISS is scheduled to last around six months. The ISS crew will therefore consist of an average of seven members - instead of six, the American manned capsules being able to carry four people, one more than the Soyuz.
👉What is the purpose of the mission?
On the ISS, Thomas Pesquet will join Russian cosmonauts. "I will end up with three or four people with whom I have already flown ... It's a bit of season 2, with the same characters , he tells AFP. But, like in a series on Netflix, you have to tell another story. " However, the ISS, which will celebrate 20 years of human presence in space, may "lack novelty" .
Whatever, because "we are here to do science" , he recalls, and the ISS "still has a future" . "We have clearly not done the research , adds the astronaut. The ISS is a laboratory giving access to scientific phenomena inaccessible on Earth because of gravity." It will thus embark brain stem cells in orbit, to study their accelerated aging in space. The mission will also make it possible to prepare future missions to Mars and the Moon - for which he is a candidate, "like all [his] colleagues" .
If he has time after his long working days, he wishes to continue "to talk about the environment" to the public, as he had done during his first stay by sharing his photos of the Earth seen from up there, via social networks. "But I'm not going to open a Tik Tok account!" , he certifies.
👉Why the name "Alpha"?
The name refers to Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to Earth, in the extension of Proxima, the star of the same constellation. "Where the first exoplanets are found, those that we will look for when technology allows it," adds Thomas Pesquet.
It is also the first letter of the Greek alphabet, the symbol of the excellence that we aim for.to AFP
👉How will he reach the ISS?
The 42-year-old French astronaut will board Space X's new Crew Dragon capsule. "I will have the chance to be the first European to fly on this vehicle. It's new, it's modern. . we are very enthusiastic! " , said the astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA). Three years ago, for his first "Proxima" mission, the youngest member of the European Astronaut Corps flew to the ISS with a Russian Soyuz rocket, from the Baikonur cosmodrome, like all the residents of the Station since 2011.
A Russian monopoly which ended, in May, the first manned flight of the private capsule of Space X to the ISS, with two NASA astronauts on board. "We are going to reuse the same capsule as the one currently on board the Station, it's new! It's funny to go into space with the same vehicle but not at the same time" , rejoices the astronaut.
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