Laure Dautriche 9:50 a.m., November 11, 2021

Returning from a second successful space mission lasting more than six months, Thomas Pesquet does not hide his future ambitions.

Still young, very experienced, the French astronaut intends to position himself for a scientific trip to the Moon.

Fifty years after man's first steps on the Moon during the Apollo mission, NASA could once again send humans to the satellite from 2025. There will be, in the crew, American astronauts, of course, but also three Europeans.

And, having just returned from the International Space Station, the Frenchman Thomas Pesquet intends to be part of it.

For now, he is continuing his rehabilitation at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne. 

Arguments to be made

But once the "earth sickness" has passed, the French astronaut intends to prepare for other adventures above our heads. On Twitter, he posted a message that can be taken as a joke, but also as a personal challenge: "And then we go to the Moon?" "I think what is exciting about the plan we have today to go back there is not just going back to plant a flag," he also confided. "It would really be to go there for scientific reasons like we do on the ISS. There would be a little more permanent presence, a little more lasting."

A pride to have represented France once again in space!

Next time, the Moon?

Finally, we have to get back to Earth first, and then… a little rest. # MissionAlphapic.twitter.com / YYjnY5FxLv

- Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) November 8, 2021

What does he mean by "scientific reasons"?

It would actually be exploring unknown places on the Moon.

To apply, Thomas Pesquet has arguments to make.

At 43, he is still young and has two successful stays on the International Space Station to his credit.

The astronaut spent 39 hours in a spacesuit repairing the ISS, his feet in the air.

Pesquet "has all the necessary skills"

"The fact that Thomas has already been appointed station commander means that he has all the capabilities needed to take on great roles in operational and spaceflight. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become a commander to begin with. ", argues Frank De Winne, director of the European Astronaut Center in Cologne.

While waiting for a possible trip to the moon, the commander spent 395 days in the ISS, making him the Frenchman who made the longest stay in space.