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Thomas Pesquet Alpha mission training:
Experiment training with Thomas and Matthias
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- Title Thomas Pesquet Alpha mission training - Experiment training with Thomas and Matthias
- Length 00:05:52
- Footage Type TV Exchanges
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- Copyright ESA
- Description
In preparation for his second mission to the International Space Station, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet is training to be ready for launch. His second six-month mission is called Alpha and will see Thomas launch as part Crew-2 on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with NASA astronaut Megan Behnken and Shane Kimbrough and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide.
This video shows scenes from Thomas Pesquet and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer training on experiments led by France’s space agency CNES at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.
The Lumina experiment will demonstrate the reliability of a fibre-optic dosimeter in measuring radiation ionising inside the International Space Station. The Lumina technology demonstration features two spools of kilometre-long fibres that will improve our understanding of how fibre optic cables cope with long-duration spaceflight. This knowledge is essential as we prepare to protect astronauts and hardware on longer missions farther from Earth.
The Dreams experiment will put astronauts’ sleep under the magnifying glass. The experiment uses a novel sleep headband to study how sleep is influenced by living in weightlessness and isolation. Using small ECG sensors, this biomedical device will collect neuroscientific data that will help prepare for long missions to the Moon and Mars.
The Ultrasonic tweezers promises to move, manipulate and study objects or liquids without ever coming into contact with them. An acoustic tweezer uses ultrasound to trap objects. By moving the sound beam it is possible to move an object with great precision. The Ultrasonic tweezers experiment will evaluate how the technique can be used in microgravity to capture small plastic or glass marbles and move them over an obstacle course. Ultrasonic tweezers is a technology demonstrator that will stay on the International Space Station for use by scientists and astronauts to investigate other materials, gels and liquids and even hazardous materials or biological material without risk of contamination. Another use could be to capture water evaporation to better understand the physics at play. Other applications for the experiment lie in health care. Acoustic tweezers could be used to remove kidney stones or deliver targeted medicine.
Over 200 experiments are planned during Thomas’s time in space, with 40 European ones and 12 new experiments led by France’s space agency CNES.
At the end of the Alpha mission in October 2021, Thomas is slated to take over commandership role of the International Space Station for a brief period and welcome ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer on his first flight to space.
Latest updates on the Alpha mission can be found via @esaspaceflight on Twitter, with more details on ESA’s exploration blog via thomaspesquet.esa.int.
Background information on the Alpha mission is available at www.esa.int/MissionAlpha with a brochure at www.esa.int/AlphaBrochure.