An aeronautical engineer by training, Frenchman Thomas Pesquet talks about his preparation and the new experiments he will carry out for six months on board the International Space Station (ISS).

While he must leave Earth between March and May 2021, aboard a SpaceX capsule - a first for a European - he evokes the impact of the new involvement of the private sector in the space sector. "It breathes new life into the conquest of space," said the 42-year-old astronaut.

Private or public, all these actors tend towards the same goal, he observes: return to the Moon, with a manned mission on Mars in their sights.

>> To read also: China, United States, Emirates… Full throttle in the race towards planet Mars

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