On April 22, astronaut Thomas Pesquet will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) with a fairly special travel companion: The Point.
This object is a real scientific curiosity. It produces pigments like a plant, and it moves and feeds like an animal, and it reproduces via spores, like fungi.
Physarum Polycephalum (known as “blob”) can also be combined with some of its mates. Especially if we cut them, the pieces form new independent points. Another peculiarity? He will be able to learn … when he has no mind.
# StudentBlob
The questions surrounding this organization are numerous. This is why scientists are taking advantage of the Alpha Space mission, led by Thomas Pesquet, to learn more about the point. The French astronaut will raise him for six months on board the International Space Station and observe his behavior.
Meanwhile, the National Center for Space Studies (Cnes) is launching the operation on Earth # StudentBlob. 2000 elementary, middle, and high school classes are invited to sponsor the point to compare their scores with those of Thomas Pesquet. Thus, scientists will study the effect of microgravity on the point. Registration for this process is open until May 21, 2021.
The first French captain
But raising the point wouldn’t be Thomas Pesquet’s only task. He will use his stay on the International Space Station to conduct dozens of other scientific experiments. Among them: tests of how astronauts sleep, or even using virtual reality headsets for “immersive” exercise.
Thomas Pesquet will be accompanied by an American, an American and a Japanese. At 43 years old, he is the first Frenchman to be appointed commander of the International Space Station.
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