It ages faster in space
Thomas Pesquet : It’s just that we have the same symptoms as aging. Our bones become a little more porous, a little less strong. We lose a little muscle mass because we don’t need all of our muscles like on Earth, so we don’t realize, it’s not like we’re looking at each other and saying to each other: ” Oh yeah, hey, you took 10 years today. “
He’s too young to go to Mars
Thomas Pesquet : Even though I’m still the youngest, it will still take a little while. 15 years old, maybe. 20 years, maybe.
He chooses his food in the ISS
Thomas Pesquet : We have a whole bunch of different dishes that we can choose from. We even have food for big evenings, for Christmas, for birthdays, which are made by French chefs, Alain Ducasse, Thierry Marx … We have boxes, we have freeze-dried food. Sometimes we have fruit when we have supplies. Once, we even had ice cream which went into a kind of freezer. And that was great.
He had very little education to be an astronaut
Thomas Pesquet : You still need a few years of study.
He never opens the door to the ISS
Thomas Pesquet : You can’t even open it squarely because with the difference in pressure, it would tear. It’s like in a plane at high altitude, but 100 times worse. It has happened to us to have a small hole in the station. It’s not panic, but it’s an emergency. We have emergency procedures for that, so we’re careful. No hole in the station, it’s like in a submarine, like in a boat or, worse, no hole in the hull, forbidden.
He’s gonna go to the moon
Thomas Pesquet : Yes, I’m working on it, clearly, we have that in our sights.
He was not afraid of returning to Earth
Thomas Pesquet : When I returned to Earth, I was still relieved that it went well, this story of entering space in a ball of fire …
He cannot drink alcohol in the ISS
Thomas Pesquet : I don’t think there are any rules against drinking it. However, there is none. We have the right to drink it, but it would still be necessary to find some.
There is only one route to go into space
Thomas Pesquet : There are plenty of courses. There are doctors, there are pilots, there are engineers, there are scientists, there are even submariners or guys who come from special forces in the army. There is a little bit of everything.
We don’t feel any sensation when we come back to Earth
Thomas Pesquet : I was tired, I was happy, I had back pain and I wanted to pee. Here is.
He has no vivid memories in space
Thomas Pesquet : I have lots of memories in space. One of the coolest things, it was the first time I saw an Aurora Borealis. Besides, I had never seen it on Earth. It was a super strong, we went right into it. It was shining everywhere. It was one night after dinner, someone said, “Wow, I see something green.” We went to the window. We were all together in the Cupola, in the dark, watching it, completely amazed, like kids. That is a very beautiful memory.
In space he sleeps in a bed
Thomas Pesquet : No, we sleep in zero gravity, we have a sleeping bag that is hung on the wall, we float and you fall asleep a little while floating with the legs that float, the arms that float. And when you wake up, you have your hands in front of you, you’re like, “Wow! What’s going on?” And in fact, these are your own hands. But then you get used to it. At first it feels a bit weird.
There is a lack of freedom in the ISS
Thomas Pesquet : The space station is still a bit of a prison with a beautiful view. Your daily life is always the same, you are in the same volume with the same people, and you always do a little the same thing, you do what you are told. There is not a lot of freedom.
He missed his partner in the ISS
Thomas Pesquet : You have to make sacrifices to go into space. It is not so easy.