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ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet snapped this image of the Moon from the Russian segment on board the International Space Station earlier this month.
Currently on his first month of the six-month Alpha mission, Thomas is taking stunning photos of Earth and other wondrous objects when not working on science or Station maintenance.
“The blueish picture is when it was still low and the sky was not yet dark,” he notes. “It turned into its black and white self only moments later.”
Parts of North and South America, Australia and the Pacific will be treated to a lunar eclipse, which occurs when the Moon is engulfed by Earth’s shadow and the only sunlight that reaches its surface passes through our planet’s atmosphere, giving it a beautiful red-orange tint.
Today’s lunar eclipse will be the only total lunar eclipse of this year, and that same evening the Moon will be just 357 311 km away, often called a ‘SuperMoon’.
Despite the first human visit more than 50 years ago, the Moon remains largely unexplored yet promises to help us understand the formation of our planet, how crucial chemicals like water, necessary for life, came to the Earth-Moon system, and how we could one day use resources on the Moon to enable human presence.
In the near future, ESA will go ‘forward to the Moon’ when the European Service Module powers NASA’s Orion mission into lunar orbit, and in the next decade, ESA will play a key role in the development of the Gateway, an orbiting science station that will support future human landings.
For now, ESA is bringing the lunar eclipse to Europe with real-time coverage of the total lunar eclipse starting at midday today, 26 May, on ESA Web TV.
The live programme begins at 11:30 CEST and runs over lunchtime in Europe and will provide commentary on this fantastic eclipse, with special guest astronomers, scientists, engineers and experts from Europe and Australia.
For more info on today’s schedule and how to follow live, see here.
For more stunning images from space, follow Thomas Pesquet during Mission Alpha here.
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
C’est le week-end et ayant raté l’été, j’ai envie de soleil dans la grisaille de novembre. L’avantage c’est que j’ai à ma disposition quelques photos de voyage pour me dépayser... allez on commence avec la possibilité d’une île Garden Island se trouve au nord du Lac Michigan, et elle contient elle-même des lacs. Une île photogénique dont les plages blanches semblent la découper de l’eau ✂️
It's the weekend and because we missed the Summer on Earth I went looking for some sunshine to break through the bleak November day. Garden Island is in the north of Lake Michigan and it is probably quite cold there now too, but the Sun was definitely shining when I took the picture in July. Note the lakes in the island in the lake 😃
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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The Moon seen from the International Space Station by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet on 30 May 2021.
Thomas commented on the photo: "The Cupola windows have scratch panes on the inside, that protect the windows from camera lenses bumping into it... but they are quite scratched over the years and it makes it very difficult to take pictures with the big lenses… only one window has a bump shield that slides open. I was only too happy to see the Moon frame itself perfectly in that window. Serendipity! The Moon is symbolically getting closer all the time with new programmes and humans set to land on our natural satellite in the next few years, brought there by the European Service Module for NASA's Orion spacecraft..."
Latest updates on the Alpha mission can be found via @esaspaceflight on Twitter, with more details on ESA’s exploration blog.
Background information on the Alpha mission with a brochure.
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
It can be hard to appreciate that a human-made, football-pitch-sized spacecraft is orbiting 400 km above our heads, but there it is.
The jewel of human cooperation and ingenuity that is the International Space Station shines brightly in this image captured by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour.
Crew-2 got these amazing views during a flyaround of the orbiting lab after undocking from the Harmony module on 8 November, before their return to Earth.
Since this image was taken, there has even been a new addition in the form of the Russian Node Module, known as Prichal. The final Russian module planned for the Station, it is a spherical node attached to the Russian segment with six docking ports for future Progress and Soyuz arrivals.
A collaboration between five space agencies, the Station has become a symbol of peaceful international cooperation for 23 years now. It represents the best of our space engineering capabilities as well as humankind’s pursuit of scientific knowledge and exploration.
By any standards, it is an incredible piece of spacecraft engineering. Weighing 420 tonnes, it travels in low-Earth orbit at more than 27 000 km/hour, circling Earth approximately 16 times every day.
Crew members conduct scientific research in microgravity at facilities such as ESA’s Columbus module. Some of these experiments and tests are preparing the way for human exploration of the Moon and beyond. But the Station also provides a unique view of Earth, while its science benefits life on our planet.
Current ESA astronaut in residence is Matthias Maurer, a first-time flier spending around six-months in orbit for his Cosmic Kiss mission. Matthias will continue to support a wide range of European and international science experiments and technological research on the Station before handing off to the next ESA astronaut to fly, Samantha Cristoforetti.
Follow Matthias’s mission on the Cosmic Kiss page.
Credits: ESA/NASA-T. Pesquet
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spits fire as it lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, 23 April at 05:49 local time. On board are ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.
The crew of four spent around 23 hours orbiting Earth and catching up with the International Space Station after their launch before docking to the Node-2 Harmony module, marking the start of ESA’s six-month mission Alpha.
Thomas is the first European to be launched to space on a US spacecraft in over a decade. The new Crew Dragon ships four astronauts at a time, allowing more people to live and work on the International Space Station doing more research for scientists on Earth.
Alpha is Thomas’ second space mission, and everything is set to be bigger and brighter. A Russian laboratory module, scheduled to arrive in the summer with a European robotic arm, will offer more ways of maintaining the International Space Station and supporting spacewalkers as they work outside. Thomas will help set up this arm and prepare it for use during the Alpha mission.
Over 200 international experiments are planned during Thomas’ time in space. Of the 40 European ones, 12 are new experiments led by the French space agency CNES.
At the end of the Alpha mission in October, Thomas will take over commander of the International Space Station for a brief period and welcome ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer on his first flight to space.
Latest updates on the Alpha mission can be found on Twitter @esaspaceflight, with more details on ESA’s exploration blog.
Background information on the Alpha mission is available here with a brochure.
Credits: SpaceX
Auroras make for great Halloween décor over Earth, though ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet snapped these green smoky swirls of plasma from the International Space Station in August. Also pictured are the Soyuz MS-18 “Yuri Gagarin” (left) and the new Nauka module (right).
The Station saw quite some aurora activity that month, caused by solar particles colliding with Earth’s atmosphere and producing a stunning light show.
Fast forward to October and space is quite busy.
On 9 October the Sun ejected a violent mass of fast-moving plasma into space that arrived at Earth a few days later. The coronal mass ejection (CME) crashed into our planet’s magnetosphere and once again lit up the sky.
CMEs explode from the Sun, rush through the Solar System and while doing so speed up the solar wind – a stream of charged particles continuously released from the Sun’s upper atmosphere.
While most of the solar wind is blocked by Earth’s protective magnetosphere, some charged particles become trapped in Earth’s magnetic field and flow down to the geomagnetic poles, colliding with the upper atmosphere to create the beautiful Aurora.
While the view outside the Space Station is mesmerising, the astronauts inside are busy with science and prepping for the next crew’s arrival later this month.
Thomas will welcome fellow ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, currently scheduled to launch to the Space Station on Halloween.
In the meantime, Thomas has taken over command of the Space Station and is busy completing more science ahead of the end of mission Alpha and his return to Earth.
The astronauts have taken up space farming lately, tending to New Mexico Hatch Green Chili peppers in the name of science. A few investigations are looking into different aspects of plant behaviour in microgravity.
Tending to the body via exercise is also standard practice on the Space Station. The crew performed cycles of experiments looking into immersive exercise practices as well as the familiar Grasp experiment on reflexes under microgravity conditions.
Even downtime is ripe for experimentation, with Thomas wearing a headset to bed to track quality of sleep under weightless conditions. Read more about the goings-on in the latest monthly science recap.
Find more stunning imagery and exciting news on the Alpha blog.
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will be the first European astronaut to fly to the International Space Station on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon.
Here he is learning the systems ahead of his second space mission, Alpha, which is scheduled for launch in spring 2021.
Credits: SpaceX/NASA/ESA
Space can be a cruel mistress, but she is a beautiful one.
As we await the launch of ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and the return of Thomas Pesquet, let us marvel at the fact that humans live and work in space, an environment so inhospitable to us.
As Thomas nears the end of his six-month mission Alpha on the Space Station, he took this image, noting that living on the International Space Station “really feels like flying on a spaceship into the cosmos… or wait… that’s what we do.”
While astronauts are often pointing their cameras down to Earth, Thomas looked up for this image. “When you let your eyes adapt to the night, you start seeing millions of stars and it’s amazing…there’s also a lot of beauty in the cosmos itself, it’s just harder to see (and to photograph) at first.”
Thanks to collective human intelligence and cooperation, the International Space Station has been a reality for over 20 years, hosting astronauts who run experiments and monitor our planet from above. While launches are quite routine these days, delays happen but that’s the space business.
In that same spirit of partnership, humans are soon returning to the Moon on the Artemis missions, powered by the European Service Module, and preparing to build an outpost in lunar orbit. The Gateway will be a home far away from home and a stepping-stone to our next goal in space, humans on Mars.
Until then, make sure to look up and, like Thomas, savour the view. You’re almost home.
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
Today is "fête de la musique" an originally-French day to celebrate music. This year I hope people are responsibly listening to live music from their friends, professionals or anybody with good tunes! Here we are with our very own space music band at the beginning of Mission Alpha. Soichi played the keyboard left on the Space Station by… NASA astronaut Carl Walz 20 years ago 😯, and me on my own sax that I left here 4 years ago (much less impressive statistic, but happy it is still here!). Not easy to play as you float and tumble… we started posing super proud and ended up much more modest :)
Aujourd'hui c'est la nuit la plus courte dans l'hémisphère Nord, et aussi la fête de la musique. J’espère que vous allez en profiter pour rejoindre vos amis et aller écouter quelques groupes… dans le respect des gestes barrière évidemment ;) Pas mal de musiciens chez les astronautes, il y a même un groupe… sa particularité : les musiciens changent plus souvent que les instruments ! #TBT du lundi au début de la #MissionAlpha : voici Soichi qui joue sur le clavier laissé à bord de la Station par Carl Walz… Il y a 20 ans ! Et mon propre saxophone, fidèle au poste depuis 4 ans.
Credits: ESA/NASA
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Certains comparent la Cupola au cockpit des Tie-Fighters dans Star Wars... sans doute que leurs pilotes, trop occupés à être des méchants, ne prennent pas de selfies. Le X-Wing est de toute façon plus stylé… mais on n’a pas ça à bord de l’ISS (par contre, les panneaux solaires d’ATV et de Orion, made in Europe…) 😎 #MayThe4thBeWithYou
Je me suis promis de passer plus de temps pour moi dans la Cupola cette fois-ci, et de simplement regarder dehors pour en profiter… mais la tentation de prendre des photos reste forte 😉
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Some liken it to the Star Wars Tie-Fighter cockpit, we call it the window to the world. Do you think Tie-Fighter pilots take selfies too? I am more of a X-Wing kind of guy anyway, or even better the x-shaped solar wings of ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicles that flew to the Space Station or NASA's lunar Orion spacecraft that also has European-made X-wing solar arrays. #May4th be with you. Still hanging out in the Cupola when I get the chance.
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If you are spacewalking and you know it, raise your hand.
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet (left) and JAXA astronaut Aki Hoshide (right) performed a spacewalk on Sunday 12 September to prepare another section of the International Space Station for its solar panel upgrade.
The new solar arrays, called IROSA or ISS Roll-Out Solar Array, are being gradually installed over the existing arrays to boost the International Space Station’s power system.
Thomas and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough prepared and installed two IROSA solar panels across three spacewalks in June. The arrays were taken from their storage area outside the Space Station and passed from spacewalker to spacewalker to the worksite. There the rolled arrays were secured, unfolded, connected and then unfurled.
Aki and Thomas prepared the P4 truss for its IROSA installation. This is the same area as where Thomas and Shane installed two IROSA’s but closer to the main body of the Space Station, in an area called the 4A channel. Only one new solar array will be installed here, on a later spacewalk.
While Sunday’s extravehicular activity or EVA was already the fourth spacewalk during Thomas’ Alpha mission, it was his first with Aki and the first time a spacewalking pair did not feature a US or Russian astronaut.
Aki and Thomas made good time preparing the 4A channel for the next IROSA and were able to complete a second task to replace a floating potential measurement unit that was faulty. This unit measures the difference between the Space Station’s conductive structures and the atmospheric plasma.
Thomas and Aki completed their spacewalk in six hours and 54 minutes, which hands Thomas the ESA record for longest time spent spacewalking.
How did he celebrate? With ice cream!
Thomas reminds us that, “Spacewalks last seven hours and are like top sport, so we need the calories afterwards!”
As this image shows, the International Space Station is a huge, complex spacecraft. Built by international partners and in operation for over 20 years now, the only human outpost in space (so far!) is a sight to behold and requires spacewalks to maintain.
But as Thomas notes, fixing up the Space Station is not just a maintenance job, it is also “improving the station and what it stands for.”
Follow Thomas during his Alpha mission.
Credits: NASA
A snap of ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet during the second spacewalk to upgrade the International Space Station’s power system, taken by NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough.
The duo performed the second extra vehicular activity to bolt in place and unfurl an IROSA, or ISS Roll-Out Solar Array, on Sunday 20 June.
The series of spacewalks last week was not without some challenges. During the first spacewalk on 16 June, Shane experienced a small technical problem in his spacesuit that required him to return to the airlock and restart his Display and Control Module. This module provides astronauts with continuous information on pressure, temperature and other vital data during a spacewalk.
Though the restart was successful and Shane was in no danger, it delayed the duo’s work, preventing them from completing installation of the first new solar array as planned.
The duo succeeded in taking the IROSA panel out of its storage area outside the Space Station and passed from spacewalker to spacewalker to the worksite. There the rolled arrays were secured. The spacewalk lasted 7 hours and 15 minutes.
During the second spacewalk, the duo unfolded, bolted and connected the wires. Then they hung out while the panels were unfurled, a sequence that lasted about 10 minutes.
Shane and Thomas then got ahead of the next spacewalk by preparing the next IROSA for installation before cleaning up the worksite and heading back to the airlock. This spacewalk lasted 6 hours and 28 minutes, with only a minor technical snag. Shane’s helmet lights and camera partially detached from his helmet but Thomas used some wire to reattach them as a temporary fix.
Mission planners are working on a third spacewalk on Friday June 25 to install the second pair of new solar arrays. This will go on the P6 truss’ 4B power channel, opposite the first new solar array.
Follow the action on ESA Web TV from 12:30 CEST (11:30 BST).
Thomas now has spent 26 hours and 15 minutes on spacewalks over his two missions on the International Space Station, Proxima and Alpha.
“It was probably the most impressive experience I’ve ever had but it was not easy,” says Thomas.
Credits: NASA–S. Kimbrough
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and NASA astronaut Megan MacArthur run sessions on the Pilote experiment proposed by France’s space agency CNES in the European Columbus module of the International Space Station.
Continuing French neuroscience experiments started on the Russian space station Mir, the Pilote experiment evaluates a new way of providing tactile and visual feedback to astronauts when operating robots. Using a virtual reality headset and a haptic joystick can recreate the feeling of pressure and touch when tele-operating a robotic arm.
The results from Pilote will improve the work space on the International Space Station and future spacecraft for lunar and martian missions, where astronauts in orbit could operate rovers on the surface.
Watch a time lapse of the session here.
Over 200 experiments are planned for Thomas and crew, with 40 European ones and 12 new experiments led by CNES.
Read an overall of Thomas’ first month in space
for mission Alpha, which included work on Pilote and other science experiments, organising Dragon cargo spacecraft deliveries, Space Station maintenance, not to mention daily exercise.
Credits: ESA/NASA
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet snapped this image of Normandy from the International Space Station during his second long-duration mission known as Alpha. He posted it on social media saying "The Space Station always travels from West to East, which is great for taking pictures of my birthplace Normandy. A perfect frame to start the Earth pictures of #MissionAlpha "
Thomas was launched to the International Space Station for his second mission, Alpha, on 23 April 2021. He will spend six months living and working on the orbital outpost where he will support more than 200 international experiments in space.
Follow Thomas and his Mission Alpha on his blog.
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will serve as commander of the International Space Station towards the end of his second mission, called Alpha, currently slated to begin on 22 April this year. The announcement was made during today’s press briefing.
Thomas will be the fourth European to hold the post of commander, after ESA astronauts Frank De Winne, Alexander Gerst and Luca Parmitano. During the briefing, Thomas remarked how three back-to-back European commanders underscores the growing role of Europe in space exploration and is a testament to the hard work of ESA colleagues.
‘I am unbelievably humbled and honoured’, said Thomas.
Thomas will be the first ESA astronaut to fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon launching on a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida, USA. He will accompany NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.
During his six-month Alpha mission, Thomas will continue the programme of research that often spans multiple missions and a wide range of scientific disciplines spanning materials science and radiation to educational activities.
The end of Thomas six-month stay on board will overlap with the start of German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer’s first mission to the Space Station, called Comic Kiss, which will be followed by Samantha Cristoforetti’s second tenure in space, marking three back-to-back missions for ESA astronauts.
Follow Thomas Pesquet and his Alpha mission
Credits: NASA–Bill Stafford
From left: ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and JAXA astronaut Aki Hoshide inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour shortly after having splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, USA.
Thomas is the first European to fly to the International Space Station and return on a commercial spacecraft. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour transporting Crew-2 autonomously undocked from the International Space Station and after a series of burns, entered Earth’s atmosphere and deployed parachutes for a soft water-landing. Thomas and crew splashed down on 9 November 2021 at 03:33 GMT (04:33 CET).
Credits: NASA–A.Gemignani
24 hours in the space of a Fiat500 with three good friends… a student road-trip? No, this is the approach of Crew Dragon to the International Space Station. A superb performance by all the trainers and operational people who prepared us and carried out this voyage. We were flying at 400 km above Earth for 24 hours but it felt like home.
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24h dans le volume d'une Fiat 500 avec trois amis, un road trip d'étudiants ? Non : l'approche de l’ISS en Crew Dragon ! Superbe performance technique et opérationelle de toutes les équipes qui nous ont entrainés et encadrés pour ce voyage. Ou comment voler à 400 km d'altitude pendant 24h en se sentant comme chez soi !
Credits: JAXA/NASA–S. Noguchi
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Une victoire contre les All Blacks, ça mérite bien un post, d’autant qu’il me reste quelques photos assez spectaculaires. Vue de l’espace, la Nouvelle-Zélande est un pays magnifique, on dirait qu’il a été dessiné pour que les astronautes puissent l’admirer. Bravo à son équipe de rugby qui n’a pas démérité hier, et surtout félicitations au XV de France pour cette victoire historique contre la référence mondiale du rugby. Good game!
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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As ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet get closer to launch, it's time to meet the crew. In the words of Thomas: "I don't mean to show off but this crew might have the most combined experience in spaceflight history!!!! (I'm sure the internet will take on the task to do the maths), and more importantly they're the best teammates ever. We had the chance to train in our shiny new spacesuits recently in Hawthorne where SpaceX is based, and we snapped a few pictures. Let me introduce them (and feel free to follow them on social media too). A special shoutout to the awesome PR and media team at SpaceX and Ashish Sharma the incredibly talented photographer who takes most of the cool SpaceX pictures you see all over the internet."
Credits: SpaceX
Quand on prend un peu de recul, des paysages qui nous paraissaient très différents montrent leur similitude. Les montagnes du Pérou émergent des nuages de la même façon que les terres autour de cette rivière d'Afrique Australe.
Repetitive forms on Earth, but on closer inspection very, very different landscapes. The mountains of Peru emerge from the clouds, looking similar to the landscape in Africa emerging from a river.
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, outside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour shortly after having splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, USA.
Thomas is the first European to fly to the International Space Station and return on a commercial spacecraft. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour transporting Crew-2 autonomously undocked from the International Space Station and after a series of burns, entered Earth’s atmosphere and deployed parachutes for a soft water-landing. Thomas and crew splashed down on 9 November 2021 at 03:33 GMT (04:33 CET).
Credits: NASA–A.Gemignani
A Falcon 9 Crew Dragon is prepared for the launch of Crew-2 on launch pad 39A on 19 April 2021 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet is returning to the International Space Station on his second spaceflight. Called ‘Alpha’the mission will see a European astronaut launch on a US spacecraft for the first time in over a decade. Thomas is flying alongside NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide on the Crew Dragon. Thomas will be the first ESA astronaut to fly on a vehicle other than the US Space Shuttle or Russian Soyuz.
The Crew-2 launch is scheduled for 22 April at 06:11 EDT/12:11 CEST.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
Une victoire contre les All Blacks, ça mérite bien un post, d’autant qu’il me reste quelques photos assez spectaculaires. Vue de l’espace, la Nouvelle-Zélande est un pays magnifique, on dirait qu’il a été dessiné pour que les astronautes puissent l’admirer. Bravo à son équipe de rugby qui n’a pas démérité hier, et surtout félicitations au XV de France pour cette victoire historique contre la référence mondiale du rugby. Good game!
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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Le Mont Blanc émergeant des nuages un des seuls de la liste des plus hauts pics que j’ai gravi personnellement. D’ailleurs ma coach sportive de l’EAC vient d’y emporter le patch de la mission… quelqu’un a fait mieux ? Vous l'emmeneriez où pour faire la photo la plus impressionnante ? Un peu plus au Nord, la Mer de Glace et la Vallée de Chamonix ❄️🎿 #HighestPeaks #MissionAlpha
Le Mont Blanc (just sticking out of the clouds on some pictures) and Chamonix valley and a white glacier. It is of course the highest peak of Europe, and the only one I climbed myself. My sports trainer at the European Astronaut Centre took the #MissionAlpha patch to the summit and shared it with me. Where would you take the patch to make an even more impressive photo?
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, outside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour shortly after having splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, USA.
Thomas is the first European to fly to the International Space Station and return on a commercial spacecraft. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour transporting Crew-2 autonomously undocked from the International Space Station and after a series of burns, entered Earth’s atmosphere and deployed parachutes for a soft water-landing. Thomas and crew splashed down on 9 November 2021 at 03:33 GMT (04:33 CET).
Credits: NASA–A.Gemignani
Today is "fête de la musique" an originally-French day to celebrate music. This year I hope people are responsibly listening to live music from their friends, professionals or anybody with good tunes! Here we are with our very own space music band at the beginning of Mission Alpha. Soichi played the keyboard left on the Space Station by… NASA astronaut Carl Walz 20 years ago 😯, and me on my own sax that I left here 4 years ago (much less impressive statistic, but happy it is still here!). Not easy to play as you float and tumble… we started posing super proud and ended up much more modest :)
Aujourd'hui c'est la nuit la plus courte dans l'hémisphère Nord, et aussi la fête de la musique. J’espère que vous allez en profiter pour rejoindre vos amis et aller écouter quelques groupes… dans le respect des gestes barrière évidemment ;) Pas mal de musiciens chez les astronautes, il y a même un groupe… sa particularité : les musiciens changent plus souvent que les instruments ! #TBT du lundi au début de la #MissionAlpha : voici Soichi qui joue sur le clavier laissé à bord de la Station par Carl Walz… Il y a 20 ans ! Et mon propre saxophone, fidèle au poste depuis 4 ans.
Credits: ESA/NASA
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In weightlessness, we all have super powers… Mark Vande Hei arrived on the International Space Station three weeks ago and has become incredibly strong! ♂️ No idea what I will become… super nice? Super funny? I can’t wait 😜
Arrivé en Soyouz, il n'a passé que 3 semaines dans l'espace mais Mark Vande Hei a déjà des super-pouvoirs ️ Les rageux et les jaloux diront que c'est plus facile en impesanteur 😉
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet 527C2916
A Falcon 9 Crew Dragon is prepared for the launch of Crew-2 on launch pad 39A on 19 April 2021 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet is returning to the International Space Station on his second spaceflight. Called ‘Alpha’the mission will see a European astronaut launch on a US spacecraft for the first time in over a decade. Thomas is flying alongside NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide on the Crew Dragon. Thomas will be the first ESA astronaut to fly on a vehicle other than the US Space Shuttle or Russian Soyuz.
The Crew-2 launch is scheduled for 22 April at 06:11 EDT/12:11 CEST.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
On the International Space Station, you can just hang out on the ceiling... This makes for fun photos, but is also exploited to the maximum to use all available space. The "floor", "walls" and "ceiling" of our laboratory modules and storage modules are all covered with equipment racks and storage holds, no need to waste space when you can easily reach all areas and don't have to walk on anything. To orient ourselves we usually float the same way each time, lighting and arrows help to keep track.
Pourquoi utiliser le sol quand on peut utiliser le plafond ? Certes, ça fait des photos amusantes, mais il y a aussi une utilité immédiate : le rangement ! Dans un espace aussi limité, tous les recoins et toutes les parois sont utilisés pour stocker ou pour travailler. Notre meilleur ami ? Le velcro !
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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A Falcon 9 Crew Dragon is prepared for the launch of Crew-2 on launch pad 39A on 19 April 2021 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet is returning to the International Space Station on his second spaceflight. Called ‘Alpha’the mission will see a European astronaut launch on a US spacecraft for the first time in over a decade. Thomas is flying alongside NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide on the Crew Dragon. Thomas will be the first ESA astronaut to fly on a vehicle other than the US Space Shuttle or Russian Soyuz.
The Crew-2 launch is scheduled for 22 April at 06:11 EDT/12:11 CEST.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
Here’s everyone’s favourite hangout place on the International Space Station: the (European-built) Cupola! With windows on the world, a great place to drink your coffee, call a friend (yes, you can call Earth from the Space Station), or simply to take in the view. I promised myself to spend more time in here (but yes ESA I will still do all the work and more, don’t worry!) 😉
Voici l'endroit préféré des astronautes à bord de la Station spatiale internationale : la Cupola, un équipement construit en Europe ! C'est notre fenêtre sur le monde, le lieu idéal pour boire un café, appeler nos proches (oui, on peut téléphoner depuis l'espace), ou simplement admirer la vue. Je me suis promis d'y passer un peu plus de temps lors de la #MissionAlpha (mais promis ESA, ça n'empiétera pas sur mon travail 😉)
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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It is good to be back! We just called our friends and families to reassure them we arrived in good health, the smiles on our faces (no masks up here!) speak volumes. It is a great feeling to be weightless again in the Space Station. It feels familiar in a way, but also very special. The space is less tidy than last time, but this is simply because there is more equipment We now have a few hours to install our sleeping bags, toiletries, sport gear and so on, afterwards… to work!
De retour à la maison... ! On vient de se retrouver avec l'équipage et d'appeler pour rassurer nos proches : tout va extrêmement bien ici, les sourires sur nos visages (non masqués !) en disent long je pense ! C'est une incroyable sensation de retrouver l'impesanteur et l'environnement de la Station - à la fois c'est très familier mais chaque retour dans l'espace reste vraiment spécial. Elle est moins bien rangée que la dernière fois ! Ce n'est pas de la faute des collègues, il y a simplement de plus en plus d'équipements à bord. Maintenant on a quelques heures pour installer son sac de couchage et ses petites affaires de toilette, de sport... et on attaque le travail !
Credits: JAXA/NASA–S Noguchi
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Aki et moi marchant vers notre Dragon, dans le bras d’accès vers la fusée, à 70 m d’altitude 🚀 Merci à SpaceX de nous avoir envoyé cette photo. Leur équipe de clôture a fait un boulot formidable : ce sont toutes les personnes en noir que vous avez vu autour de nous, équipées de masques, de combinaisons et avec un numéro dans le dos pour préciser leur rôle. On a l’air déterminés (et c’était le cas !) et peut-être un peu triste de quitter la Terre et les personnes qui nous sont chères… ou alors simplement fatigués, la nuit avait été très courte 😉 J’ai déjà l’impression que c’était il y a une éternité 😅
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Aki and me walking to our Dragon, in the access arm to the rocket 70 m high 🚀 The closeout team did a fantastic job (all the SpaceX ninjas you see around us with masks, black flightsuits and numbers on their backs – each with their defined roles… or almost). We look determined… and maybe a bit sad to leave Earth and our loved ones behind, or just tired (no sleep that night 😅). It feels like we left earth long ago and it was just 3 days!
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Crédits SpaceX
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I took a very lucky shot: as I was getting out of my spacesuit and looking out the window, I happened to spot our second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, casually flying in formation with us on a perfectly parallel track, but lower... two tiny objects 200 km above Earth! A series of manoeuvres changed our trajectory (and the second stage) and soon we were on diverging paths! Thanks for the ride, though, and so long Falcon 9 (maybe I'll see our first stage again since it landed successfully )
Quelle chance ! J’ai réussi à photographier le 2e étage du @SpaceX Flacon 9 alors qu’il volait sur une trajectoire parfaitement parallèle à la nôtre, mais un peu plus bas. Après une série de manœuvres, nos chemins ont divergé. Merci pour le voyage 👋
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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As a month of celebrating 20 years of continuous human habitation of the International Space Station draws to a close, we look back on the first mission of the next ESA astronaut to travel to the Space Station, Thomas Pesquet.
The ESA astronaut of French nationality lived and worked on the Space Station for 196 days during his first mission, Proxima, between November 2016 and June 2017. Thomas is one of 18 European astronauts to have spent time on board and will return for his Alpha mission
in spring 2021.
Thomas is seen here working in the European Columbus laboratory that was launched to the Station in February 2008.
The Columbus laboratory is Europe’s largest single contribution to the International Space Station. Permanently attached to the Harmony module, this pressurised laboratory allows researchers on the ground, aided by the Station’s crew, to conduct a wide variety of research in a weightless environment.
Experiments in space science, Earth observation and technology can also be conducted outside the module, thanks to four exterior mounting platforms that are exposed to the vacuum of space. Room outside Columbus for commercial experiments is also on its way, with the Bartolomeoservices due to begin operations soon.
During his upcoming Alpha mission, Thomas will continue this research and experimentation on the International Space Station supported by his crewmates and ground teams from ESA, the US space agency NASA, Russian space agency Roscosmos, the Canadian Space Agency and the Japanese space agency JAXA.
This enduring international partnership is a key feature of the Space Station as nations work across cultures and borders, performing science, research and engineering that has led to breakthroughs in disease research, materials science, Earth observation, our understanding of Earth’s origins and more.
This work helps humankind explore even farther while enhancing life here on Earth – setting Europe in good stead for its journey forward, beyond low Earth orbit to the Moon.
Credits: ESA/NASA
Le Mont Blanc émergeant des nuages un des seuls de la liste des plus hauts pics que j’ai gravi personnellement. D’ailleurs ma coach sportive de l’EAC vient d’y emporter le patch de la mission… quelqu’un a fait mieux ? Vous l'emmeneriez où pour faire la photo la plus impressionnante ? Un peu plus au Nord, la Mer de Glace et la Vallée de Chamonix ❄️🎿 #HighestPeaks #MissionAlpha
Le Mont Blanc (just sticking out of the clouds on some pictures) and Chamonix valley and a white glacier. It is of course the highest peak of Europe, and the only one I climbed myself. My sports trainer at the European Astronaut Centre took the #MissionAlpha patch to the summit and shared it with me. Where would you take the patch to make an even more impressive photo?
Credits: ESA
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Admiring the view, but when you launch from Cape Canaveral, you mustn't forget the sunscreen... I didn't have this problem in Baikonur! ☀😎
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, outside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour shortly after having splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, USA.
Thomas is the first European to fly to the International Space Station and return on a commercial spacecraft. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour transporting Crew-2 autonomously undocked from the International Space Station and after a series of burns, entered Earth’s atmosphere and deployed parachutes for a soft water-landing. Thomas and crew splashed down on 9 November 2021 at 03:33 GMT (04:33 CET).
Credits: NASA–A.Gemignani
J-5: À Baïkonour, l'équipage n'est pas censé voir sa fusée avant le jour du décollage... mais ici la tradition est différente ! Nous avons eu la chance d'arriver au Kennedy Space Center au moment précis où le Falcon 9 était verticalisé sur le pas de tir. C'est toujours impressionnant de le voir de si près, comme en témoignent nos nombreuses photos et selfies
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L-5: In Baikonur the crew is not supposed to see their rocket before launch, but this is a tradition we don’t have here! We were lucky enough to arrive at NASA's Kennedy Space Center the exact time the rocket was erected into the vertical position on the launch pad. Always impressive to see it from up close... impressive enough for our crew to snap lots of photos and selfies!
Credits: ESA–T. Pesquet
I always love to take pictures of the horizon, as far as possible. You see how some clouds tower really high in the sky... and how the blue of the atmosphere transitions to the deep black of space. This picture doesn’t do it justice but helps understand how Earth’s blue hue really seems to glow in the dark when seen with the naked eye.
Encore plus que depuis un cockpit, j’adore photographier l’horizon dans l’espace. Certains nuages s’élèvent vraiment haut… Pas sûr que la photo rende si bien compte du phénomène, mais c’est ce dégradé de bleus jusqu'au noir profond de l'espace qui nous donne l’impression que la Terre luit dans l’obscurité.
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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Le Mont Blanc émergeant des nuages un des seuls de la liste des plus hauts pics que j’ai gravi personnellement. D’ailleurs ma coach sportive de l’EAC vient d’y emporter le patch de la mission… quelqu’un a fait mieux ? Vous l'emmeneriez où pour faire la photo la plus impressionnante ? Un peu plus au Nord, la Mer de Glace et la Vallée de Chamonix ❄️🎿 #HighestPeaks #MissionAlpha
Le Mont Blanc (just sticking out of the clouds on some pictures) and Chamonix valley and a white glacier. It is of course the highest peak of Europe, and the only one I climbed myself. My sports trainer at the European Astronaut Centre took the #MissionAlpha patch to the summit and shared it with me. Where would you take the patch to make an even more impressive photo?
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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This weekend we said farewell to Crew-1 who left for Earth. We took these pictures of the full Expedition together before they left: Crew-1, Crew-2 and the Soyuz MS-18 crew. It wasn't easy getting us all into the frame but Soichi is an expert! This is not a record for the International Space Station (there have been 13 together on board before) but it was still very full. We have enough air, (recycled) water and food, the main bottleneck was the toilets, there are only two!
Avant le départ du Crew-1 ce weekend, nous avons pris le temps de faire une photo de groupe. 3 équipages (Crew-1, Crew-2, Soyouz MS-18), 11 astronautes : difficile de faire entrer tout le monde dans le cadre ! Ce n’est pas le record du nombre de personnes à bord de l’ISS (13 : superstitieux s’abstenir), mais c'était bien plein. On avait de la nourriture, de l’oxygène et de l’eau (recyclés) pour tout le monde pour un moment… le plus délicat, ce sont les toilettes (seulement deux 😅)
Credits: ESA/NASA
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#UnJourUneVille🇫🇷 Je suis rentré avant d'avoir fini la série ! Le Mans, connue internationalement pour sa célèbre course automobile, mais la ville a de nombreux autres atouts. J'aime notamment beaucoup le vieux Mans.
Despite leaving the Station a little later than originally planned, we still didn't finish the series on cities in France. This is where the famous 24-hour race takes place: Le Mans!
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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Toujours à la recherche des plus hauts sommets du monde, voici l'Elbrouz en Russie. Il n'était pas si difficile à repérer, entre la Mer Noire et la Mer Caspienne... Situé dans le Caucase dont il est l'un des rares volcans, c'est le plus haut sommet d'Europe. #HighestPeaks #VendrediVolcan #MissionAlpha
Continuing the quest for the highest peaks, here is Mount Elbrus in Russia. There are different zoom levels, the most zoomed in is the same as Aconcagua posted on Monday. The Elbrus is one of the easier peaks to spot, in between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea on the northern part of the mountain range.
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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You can NEVER get tired of this view. First glimpse from the side windows of Crew Dragon after arrival on orbit. Same emotion as 4 years ago... but bigger windows 😉
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Impossible de se lasser de cette vue. Premier aperçu de la vue depuis le Crew Dragon, une fois arrivé en orbite. 4 ans après, c'est la même émotion... mais les fenêtres sont plus grandes 😉
Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
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An old friend of mine: the ESA GRIP experiment! On my first ✈️ parabolic flight in 2010, we took part in a safety analysis of the hardware, then during my first flight in 2017 I performed the on-orbit commissioning. It has been going strong since with 6 subjects (including ESA astronauts @astro_alex_esa and @astro_luca), and I should be one of the last ones! It is complex, with lots of cables… always hard to manage when you’re free-floating. The experiment is under the responsibility of CADMOS, the French User Operations Centre based in Toulouse. They do an excellent job of sorting out the cables and telling us what goes where 😅
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Installée par mes soins lors de #Proxima en 2017, l'expérience GRIP est toujours à bord de la Station. Mais notre histoire commune remonte à 2010, lors de mon 1re vol parabolique ✈️ Nous avions testé la compatibilité du matériel avec l'impesanteur. 6 astronautes l'ont manipulée depuis, notamment @astro_alex_esa et @astro_luca, et je ne serai probablement pas le dernier. Elle est un peu complexe avec tous ses câbles, et c'est encore plus difficile quand on flotte... GRIP est sous la responsabilité du CADMOS, l'USOC (Centre de soutien aux utilisateurs de systèmes spatiaux) français situé au CNES, à Toulouse. Heureusement pour moi, ils savent exactement où brancher chaque fil 😅
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Le Havre, a UNESCO heritage city due to its modern architecture and the gateway to the sea for Paris. The name actually means "harbor" in French! I come from the area originally and some of my family support the football club ⚽️
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Camaïeu de bleu dans les eaux du port du Havre. L'estuaire de la Seine est plus facile à repérer que sa source ! 🔴 Avec son architecture moderne, la ville est inscrite au patrimoine mondiale de l’UNESCO. Le club de foot, que soutiennent certains membres de ma famille (je suis du coin), à tendance à ne pas toujours gagner tous ses matches… ⚽️🏃
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Credits: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
Un aspect du travail qui fait peut-être moins rêver : la maintenance. #bricolage #MacGyver La Station c’est un très *très* gros vaisseau, donc il y a toujours de quoi faire pour entretenir, réparer, améliorer ou remettre en état. Sur cette vidéo censée illustrer la phrase précédente, on dirait que Mark fait tout le boulot au son de mon banjo (en fait, un filtre), mais ne faites pas confiance à vos premières impressions : j’étais concentré en train de le guider à partir des procédures sur ma tablette. 😇 🎶
100 days in space for #MissionAlpha. It feels like a long time ago, but we also installed new toilets shortly after arriving. I was looking at the procedures on the tablet velcroed to my thigh, and yes, this filter looked so much like a banjo, I had to. The same video specialist at ESA who edits the timelapse videos (and much, much more!), Melanie Cowan, spotted this clip from the Space Station onboard camera views, added some music and the result is… perfectly embarrassing! 🎸😂👏. True story: I actually helped Mark on this day. A little. Maybe. No one knows.
Credits: ESA/NASA