A message of thanks to all the people on Earth who have supported ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and the crew of the International Space Station during his second mission “Alpha”.

Thomas shared this video on social media with the caption:

“A team makes everything better for any complex task, and living and working in space is without a sliver of a doubt one of the most difficult tasks humankind has achieved. A huge thank you to everybody who helped the cause, I am profoundly grateful and appreciative for the amount of work, dedication and professionalism by so many around the world, to put so few in orbit around it.”

Over 200 experiments are planned during Thomas’ time in space, with 40 European ones and 12 new experiments led by the French space agency CNES.

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.