SpaceX's Crew Dragon departs for the International Space Station on Thursday at 12:11 a.m. KST.
On board, the astronaut Thomas Pesquet will have a very busy schedule, with tasks to be carried out over three-quarters of his time, details on Europe 1 Philippe Henarejos, editor-in-chief of the review Ciel et Espace.
INTERVIEW
It's a new start.
A big start, to be more precise.
Those who amaze the eyes of young and old alike, who catch the retina and hold breaths.
Thursday, at 12:11, Thomas Pesquet will fly from Florida to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule.
A prestigious international event for the 43-year-old French astronaut, who will live for six very busy months during this mission, as explained for Europe 1 Philippe Henarejos, editor-in-chief of the review Ciel et Espace.
"Dozens of scientific experiments"
After three days of travel, necessary to reach the ISS, Thomas Pesquet will therefore live for about six months 400 km from Earth, with a busy schedule to say the least.
“Basically, for 50% of an astronaut's time on the ISS, these are scientific experiments,” says Philippe Henarejos.
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"There are various sciences in which Thomas Pesquet will have to carry out dozens of experiments", continues the specialist.
"Physics, chemistry, physiology, medicine ... These are also experiments focused on long-term space flights" which will keep the French and the other members of Crew Dragon busy.
"If we count all the experiments in which we must participate, the range is between 180 and 200", detailed Thomas Pesquet, who is an engineer in space sciences, to the newspaper
Le Monde
.
A quarter of the time for entertainment and sleep
That's half the time in the ISS, of which Thomas Pesquet will become the first French captain. "25% of the time is devoted to the maintenance of the aging International Space Station, with for example the spacewalks to be done to prepare the improvement of the solar panels, because there is a need for a little more power. There are already things to change, the batteries, things like that ", lists the specialist journalist.
Finally, the remaining 25% represent "sleep and leisure": "The days are still busy, because afterwards, there is only a quarter of the time left to rest and to photograph the earth through the window", summarizes Philippe Henarejos. A welcome breath in a very demanding and grueling daily life, however fascinating it may be.