Crédit photo : © M. Koell / ESA / lien internet
On Monday, March 17, 2014, Genevieve Fioraso then Minister of higher Education and Research, Jean- Jacques Dordain, General Director of the European space agency (ESA) and Jean -Yves Le Gall, Chairman of the National center for space studies (Cnes), announced that astronaut Thomas Pesquet will join the International space station (ISS) in 2016.
This 36 years old French engineer had been selected among 8,000 applicants in 2009 to join the European astronaut corps of the ESA. He is now officially assigned to a long-term mission aboard the ISS. The return to Earth is scheduled in May 2017.
The purpose of this mission is to carry out scientific experiments on human behavior, biology or materials.
This new involvement of a French scientist in space after Leopold Eyharts in 2008, places France as the third most represented nation in space after the United States and the Russia.
Our country is also very active regarding the development of technologies used in the international Aerospace industry. We owe to the Cnes instruments like ” CLIK ”, used by the ISS and the NASA in the study of fluid physics and materials, “ CARDIOMED ” for the study of astronauts cardiovascular systems in cooperation with the Russia, or even the atomic clock ” PHARAO ” set up on the ISS to test Einstein’s theory of relativity and improve accuracy of our time measurement.
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