N° 35–2021: ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet returns after an action-packed six months in orbit

Thomas is the first European to fly to and return from space on a commercial spacecraft. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour transporting Crew-2 autonomously undocked from the International Space Station and after a series of burns, entered Earth’s atmosphere and deployed parachutes for a soft water-landing. Thomas and crew splashed down off the coast of Florida, USA on 09 November 2021 at 03:33 GMT (04:33 CET).

Thomas will fly to Cologne, Germany, where he will be monitored by ESA’s space medicine team as he readapts to Earth’s gravity at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) and German Aerospace Centre (DLR) ‘Envihab’ facility.

It is currently foreseen that Thomas will arrive in Cologne at 20:30 GMT (21:30 CET).

A small amount of media may attend the return of Thomas at the airport and there may be a short Q&A with Thomas when he disembarks from the aeroplane. The arrival of Thomas and the Q&A on the tarmac will be recorded by ESA and made available published on ESA channels as soon as possible. A news conference will follow a few days after Thomas’s return.

Please contact us via media@esa.int if you wish for more information.

Call for Media: News Conference with ESA Astronaut Thomas Pesquet at EAC 12 November

(all times in CET only)

Media representatives are invited to join Thomas on Friday 12 November from 10:15-11:15 for a news conference to learn more about his latest mission to space.

The conference will be Thomas’ first news conference in Europe after just over 6 months on board the ISS and will be held at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne. The number of media permitted on-site will be limited due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, off-site media may also join virtually via a dedicated WebEx platform.

Programme

09:30   Media arrive on site

10:15   News Conference begins

10:30   Opportunity for media questions

11:15   News Conference ends

Media Registration

Register by 11 November, specifying whether you would like to join in-person or online:

https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form/ .

Thomas will not be available for individual interviews after the news conference.

Please note that for all media representatives joining us at EAC the German Federal Government’s ‘3G’ rule applies: You must be fully vaccinated or healed from Covid-19. This is a condition for access and will be checked. We ask for your understanding regarding the even stricter ESA European Astronaut Centre rules as health and safety of our astronauts shortly after a mission is a top priority.

Also, for media wishing to attend in person we kindly ask media teams to restrict their numbers as much as possible as places are limited. During the event, medical or FFP- 2face masks must be worn by all, at all times when inside.

The news conference will be streamed at esawebtv.esa.int, but only registered media will be able to ask questions (in English and French) via a dedicated WebEx platform.

ESA article in full:

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Alpha/ESA_astronaut_Thomas_Pesquet_returns_after_an_action-packed_six_months_in_orbit

Upcoming events are posted on the launch calendar and events calendar at www.esa.int/newsroom.

Contact

If you have further questions, please contact media@esa.int.

More information

Information on the Alpha mission can be found on www.esa.int/MissionAlpha with latest updates on the Exploration blog at thomaspesquet.esa.int.

The Alpha mission brochure is available at: www.esa.int/AlphaBrochure

Social media

Follow ESA on

Twitter: @esa, @esaspaceflight, @Thom_astro
Instagram: Europeanspaceagency
Facebook: EuropeanSpaceAgency
YouTube: ESA

Images

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images

Terms and conditions for using ESA images:
www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images

For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int.

Videos

Video B-roll of Thomas training for the Alpha mission is available on ESA’s videos for professionals:

https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2020/12/Thomas_Pesquet_Alpha_mission_training

https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2021/03/Thomas_Pesquet_Mission

https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2021/03/Thomas_Pesquet_Bio_Training

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos

Terms and conditions for using ESA videos:
https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Terms_and_Conditions

For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int.

About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Slovenia, Latvia and Lithuania are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with five Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int

For further information:

ESA Newsroom and Media Relations Office – Ninja Menning

Email: media@esa.int

Tel: +31 71 565 6409