Thomas Pesquet aboard the International Space Station on November 19, 2016; during his first stay. – ESA / NASA / AFP
- Thomas Pesquet will be returning to the International Space Station this Friday for a six-month stay during which he will even take on the role of captain at the end of the mission.
- What to add beautiful lines to the course of the popular French astronaut. And allow him to aim higher? Because, very quickly, new missions to the Moon and the future Gateway lunar station will open up to astronauts.
- Thomas Pesquet does not hide it, he dreams of it. It remains to be seen how many places the European Space Agency (ESA) will manage to secure for its astronauts on board these new missions. And if there will be one for the French.
Here we are ! With one day late due to inclement weather along the flight path, Thomas Pesquet will take off this Friday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard
the Crew Dragon capsule by Space X. Direction
the International Space Station (ISS), 400 kilometers from Earth, which he will reach with three teammates * after 23 hours.
As for his first stay, from November 2016 to June 2017, Thomas Pesquet will stay there for six months, writing a new beautiful page in French and European space history.
Change of status with this second trip?
The astronaut will indeed sign several firsts and will break some records. This from take-off, since he will be the first European to join the ISS aboard the capsule of Space X, the company of billionaire Elon Musk, when travel was previously made on board the Russian spacecraft Soyuz. Up there, Thomas Pesquet will also become the French astronaut who has spent the most time in space. And even the first to take command of the ISS, as planned for the last month of his mission.
Not nothing, this status. “It’s like a boat, there is only one master on board after God,” commented the person on March 16 at a press conference. Obviously, there are a lot of things that are decided in the ground control center, but when things go badly and you have to react quickly, it is the commander who decides, who assigns the tasks a little, for example if we must deal with an outbreak of fire or depressurization ”. It is also a recognition, complete Hervé Stevenin, responsible for training in extra-vehicular activities at
European Astronaut Center in Cologne (Germany) and who, as such, trains Thomas Pesquet. “This is a sign that his first mission aboard the ISS is considered successful and that he is considered sufficiently experienced to occupy this position,” he slips.
The moon for a new horizon
We must not forget either extra-vehicular outings (EVA), those delicate moments when the astronauts have to leave the ISS for operations in space. Thomas Pesquet already has two on the clock. Four are scheduled during his new stay. “It is not expected that Thomas will participate in the official program announced”, indicates Christophe Chaffardon, director of education and scientific mediation at the
Cité de l’Espace de Toulouse. “But as far as EVA is concerned, nothing is really set in stone,” continues Hervé Stevenin. It is enough that one exit does not go quite as planned for the schedule of the following ones to change and for the roles to be redistributed. Hopefully Thomas can at least take part in one spacewalk, if not two. “
Anyway, the French will return to Earth – in principle around the end of October – with a solid CV. Capital for the future. Because if the ISS is currently the only possible destination for astronauts, the horizon should quickly widen. If the first manned flights to Mars are still a distant prospect, things are moving towards the Moon. Christophe Chaffardon distinguishes two programs initiated by NASA. “Artemis, which aims to bring a crew on lunar soil by 2024, then to lead to the organization of regular missions on our natural satellite, he begins. And
Gateway, the future lunar space station, the assembly of which will begin in 2024 ”. In other words, it will be the little sister of the ISS, but this time 400,000 km from Earth and orbiting the Moon. Its entry into service is announced for 2027. Gateway would then serve as an advanced base for the astronauts of Artemis flights en route to the Moon. Although the Gateway will not be permanently inhabited, unlike the ISS, NASA still plans regular stays there for short periods (one month) and with up to four astronauts on board.
How many seats for Europeans?
Golden opportunities for Thomas Pesquet? The Frenchman dreams of the Moon in any case, as he confided to 20 minutes in June 2019. But places are expensive and fiercely negotiated. “It is mainly by contributing to programs that space agencies obtain, in compensation, flights for their astronauts,” explains Hervé Stevenin. ESA, which actively participates in the operation of the ISS and has notably provided
his Colombus module, moored since February 2008, has been granted a six-month flight every eighteen months for one of its astronauts. It’s even every year lately. “
ESA should also be well placed to embark Europeans to Gateway. “The agency will provide three modules”, indicates Christophe Chaffardon. On the other hand, with regard to the Artemis program and to land crews on the Moon, “NASA is more in charge,” he continues. In February, ESA nonetheless indicated that this year it was launching talks with the US space agency to have a seat reserved for one of its astronauts. We could have arguments to make, to listen to Hervé Stevenin. “One of the projects studied at ESA is that of an automated cargo ship that would make it possible to shuttle between Gateway and lunar soil to transport equipment,” he explains. If it does materialize and NASA validates it, we could get return flight opportunities. “
Strong candidates in the 2009 generation
To sum up, “we already know that three of our astronauts will be aboard Gateway in the coming decade,” continues Hervé Stevenin. And if the first flights to the Moon will take place without Europeans, it is not impossible that we could get a place in the next ten years. “
These are the prospects for Thomas Pesquet. But the French are far from guaranteed to get one of these tickets. One certainty: given the experience they require, these flights to Gateway and the Moon will be for the generation of astronauts that ESA recruited in 2009 – including Thomas Pesquet -, and not the one for which it just started recruiting. All the same, in this generation 2009, they are six. Seven even if we add
the German Matthias Maurer, subsequently recruited. Among them, the German Alexander Gerst and the Italian Luca Parmitano already have two missions aboard the ISS on their counter and have both taken control of the spacecraft. “And ESA’s objective is to send its seven astronauts into space at least twice,” says Hervé Stevenin. The competition promises to be tough. At 43, Thomas Pesquet can afford to be patient. “He has at least 17 years before him to fly”, assures his trainer.
* Americans Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, as well as Japanese Akihiko Hoshide
Being French, another asset for Thomas Pesquet?
If l‘European Space Agency (ESA) secures seats for future missions to the Moon, it remains to be seen which its 2009 generation astronauts she will benefit from it. Of course, among the criteria taken into account, there will be those of experience and skills. The number of days spent in space, the number of extra-vehicular outings carried out, an experience as a captain on the ISS …
But nationalities could also be taken into account. “The countries which are the biggest contributors to the ESA budget often have the most weight when choosing the astronauts who will go on a mission”, slips both Christophe Chaffardon, at the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse, and Hervé Stevenin, from the European Astronaut Center in Cologne. And France is one of them. “But just like Germany and Italy,” they both recall.
In other words, being French, Thomas Pesquet could have an advantage over the Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen or the British Timothy Peake. But probably not on the Italian Luca Parmitano and the German Alexander Gerst, who already have a CV as rich as the French. And not on the Italian Samantha Cristoforetti, who will make her second flight aboard the ISS in the wake of Thomas Pesquet, or the German Matthias Maurer.