The French astronaut took over at the head of the International Space Station (ISS) on October 4, after the command of his Japanese teammate Akihiko Hoshide. It is therefore Thomas Pesquet who will always be “in command” of the ISS when it lands on Earth, which should take place in early November. In the meantime, to talk about his new role, he replies to Gabriel, Jules and Arthur. And it’s Mathéo which asks the first question of this special command space show:
“How are you chosen to be the commander of the ISS, is it more an election or a selection? And for how long do you become a commander?” It’s not an election, it is rather a selection. It must be your second flight already. You cannot be a captain on your first flight, because you have to have experience “, the astronaut answers. I was lucky that it went well the first time around, so we said OK! There you go, that’s how it goes. And you become a captain between two crew changes. Each time the crew changes, the commander changes “.
The second question is from Gabriel. “When you go to fly the ISS, what’s the name of the flywheel?” Thomas Pesquet responds to Gabriel that there is no steering wheel as such: “it’s like a big boat … there are a lot of people at the control center in Houston who work for NASA, who send remote commands … In fact, it is remotely piloted with a large automatic pilot … On the other hand, in the Dragon or in the Soyuz, yes, there we have controls, a bit like in an airplane. can drive them. “
Jules, 11, would like to know what the responsibilities of the ISS commander are, and here is what the astronaut replies: “It’s a bit the same role as a captain of a football team. pass normally; he is there to make a little connection, and then, to set an example, things like that. On the other hand, in an emergency, he is responsible for everyone’s safety, and therefore he you have to be careful what you do. “
“Now that you are the commander of the ISS, when you wake up in the morning, how does your daily life change compared to before?”, 12-year-old Arthur asks him. Thomas Pesquet answers him: “Now, as soon as I finish my job, I take care of going to see the others. I ask them how things are going, do they need help, do we need to coordinate something … There are lots of little tasks to do with the ground, the control center, answering emails, calling them, discussing such and such a subject, it takes a lot of my time … What it does change is that I have days that can be a little fuller, or filled with other things. “
“I am proud to represent my country up there“, declared Thomas Pesquet during the ceremony of the change of command of the vessel.
Congratulations to ESA astronaut @Thom_astro, new commander of the International @Space_Station! https://t.co/Z7UHQihlFA
– ESA (@esa) October 5, 2021
On this page, you can listen to this new episode of Space emission, in which astronaut Thomas Pesquet answers children’s questions about life aboard the ISS. An event not to be missed every Saturday on franceinfo radio, and to be found in a podcast.