Space explorers in the land of volcanoes

Three space explorers make their way to the top of an ancient volcano called Caldera Blanca in Lanzarote, one of Europe’s volcanic hot spots. From its rim, remnants of recent eruptions lie open for this crew of astronauts learning geology for planetary exploration.

Participants of PANGAEA’s 10th edition are ESA astronaut Pablo Álvarez Fernández, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and Kimiya Yui from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA. During three intensive weeks, the training grows in complexity as the astronauts face challenges in real environments.

A team of instructors, including some of Europe’s top planetary geologists, progressively gives the trainees more time exploring independently. Based on their experience over the last decade, astronauts perform best when they are given autonomy, as they enjoy true exploration and feel motivated by scientific discovery.

This was the first expedition in which the astronauts needed very little coaching from the science team, who followed their moves remotely and received frequent pictures and measurements. Pablo acted as commander, Jasmin documented their observations and Kimiya was leading the exploration.

Their scientific objectives were to study the chronology and morphology of lava flows, and to find evidence of interaction between water and volcanic activity – two key factors in the search for life.

Caldera Blanca is an open-air museum for learning about lava flows that compare to the vast plains of the lunar maria – the large, basaltic areas on the Moon that appear dark to the naked eye from Earth.

Besides the indispensable rock hammers, the astronauts carry spectrometers and microscopes connected with the ESA-developed Electronic Field Book, an all-in-one tool for future space explorers. Jasmin uses this ‘space tablet’ to map their exploration, keep a record of the samples collected and communicate their observations with the science team.

Lanzarote is the last leg of their geology journey. The training has taken the astronauts from theory-packed lessons to the wild outdoors in locations across Europe, including the Bletterbach canyon in Italy and the Ries crater in Germany.