By akademiotoelektronik, 22/04/2022

Return of Thomas Pesquet: what were these six months in space for?

By Maxime T'sjoen Published onNews See my news

There were these beautiful shots. French cities in the spotlight, mountain ranges from the four corners of the Earth. And then this alert on global warming addressed to Emmanuel Macron this Thursday, November 4, 2021 during a videoconference discussion.

But Thomas Pesquet, during his six-month trip aboard the International Space Station, was not just a simple observer of the planet. No, he worked on a hundred experiments, including 12 piloted by the National Center for Space Studies (Cnes), not to mention his spacewalks and his educational interventions.

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While he must return to Earth this Tuesday, November 9, this is an opportunity to take stock of the achievements carried out by the French astronaut for six months.

Long-term experiences

Rémi Canton, project manager for the Alpha mission at Cnes, is responsible for the French contribution to Thomas Pesquet's mission. He explains to Actu.fr what is the role of the ISS in scientific and technological research.

If the general public would like to know the terrestrial applications of the experiments that take place in the station, Rémi Canton relativizes: “We do not resonate in terms of direct application. We resonate in knowledge for researchers, then to understand and later to apply,” explains the project manager.

A research laboratory in the stars

The ISS is therefore used by researchers who need to carry out experiments in microgravity. “Astronauts are in a way operators and carry out very specialized experiments by following procedures that we have given them”, explains Rémi Canton who gives some explanations on possible applications for us, on Earth.

Jumbled up, the researchers are also developing an antibacterial surface on which bacteria cannot adhere or proliferate, or even recyclable packaging to give them a second life once in the station. They could then become edible or biodegradable.

They are also studying how the brain ages by relying on accelerated aging of the brain in space.

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Flying robots on Mars...

There are also technological experiments that will be used in the future for space exploration. In a tweet, Thomas Pesquet explained that he was working on remote robotics operations: the Pilot experience.

This simulation prepares in particular the exploration of the Moon or Mars, which would require a joystick, with force feedback, as well as a virtual reality helmet to pilot drones or rovers.

An experiment supplemented by two others: Grisp and Grasp, which allow us to know how our brain reacts when we catch an object in weightlessness.

"It's about better understanding how our vestibular system works, which allows us to maintain balance, as well as its relationships to other sensory organs," explains the European Space Agency on its blog.

The results could also improve the treatment of patients with loss of vestibular function. Double use of these experiments therefore, in space then, later, on Earth.

Before sending men there?

And already, scientists are preparing the future of space travel: sending people to the red planet. For this, they are working on a headband, Dreams, which collects information in order to observe the adaptation and evolution of astronauts' sleep cycles to study it in microgravity: an important issue for (very) long missions duration in towards the Moon or Mars.

Thomas Pesquet also took part in Lumina, a fiber optic dosimeter project that makes it possible to measure radiation very precisely and thus warn astronauts in the event of danger during explorations.

Four spacewalks

In addition to numerous experiments, the astronaut made four space expeditions. At least June 2021, Thomas Pesquet, accompanied by Shane Kimbrough, carried out three sorties with the objective of installing two new solar panels outside the ISS. Mission accomplished.

In September, he donned the suit again with Aki Hoshide to prepare for a future solar panel installation.

With his six outings and almost 40 hours outside the cockpit, Thomas Pesquet is the European who has spent the most time in the vacuum of space.

Back this Tuesday

The astronaut from Seine-Maritime must leave the ISS in the evening of this Monday, November 8 and land on Tuesday 9 after several postponements.

If you want to know how the return of Thomas Pesquet to Earth will happen, Actu.fr explains everything to you with former astronaut Philippe Perrin.

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