Thomas Pesquet dreams of winning the moon: why is the satellite being asked again?

“Putting one’s foot on the moon is everyone’s dream”. Three days after returning to Earth, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet held a press conference on Friday 12 November from Cologne, Germany. And for those returning from a second mission to the International Space Station (ISS), they’re back on the Moon “It will be an exciting experience for the years to come”.

The Frenchman, who readily admits his desire to set foot on the moon’s land, may be the first European to do so. But what’s the point of going back there, more than 50 years after Apollo 17?

The US space agency, NASA, launched the Artemis program to build a space station, the orbit of the moon, the portal. The European Space Agency (ESA) has reached an agreement with the Americans to make three European flights to this new station. If nothing has been decided yet, Thomas Bisquet could take part in one of his travels.

During the recent visit of Vice President Kamala Harris to Paris, a partnership with France was mentioned. President Macron has expressed his intention to join the Artemis program as President of the Space Council (National Space Council, editor’s note)I am very excited about this collaboration.” She said in particular.

In exchange for its help, the European Space Agency will be able to claim that a European, for the first time, will land on the moon. “We have a very important program called the European Cargo Lander, which will be able to deposit up to 1.8 tons of material on the surface of the Moon, in exchange for getting a European on one of the first landings”, summarizes Didier Schmidt, head of exploration programs at the European Space Agency, at the TF1 microphone.

In detail, several missions have already been planned: Artémis 1, which will test a new heavy missile without humans on board; Artemis 2, which will take astronauts around the moon. For now, Artemis 3 will only aim to send astronauts to the lunar surface.

The astronauts selected for Artemis 3 will be tasked with collecting samples, in order to understand planetary processes, as well as the origin of volatiles from the lunar poles. The effect of radiation on astronauts will also be studied, to anticipate longer spaceflights in the future.

In the long term, the goal will be to create transportations to facilitate scientific research, study the geology of the Moon, install instruments to collect data, and explore unknown aspects of the satellite. But the goal above all is to build a permanent lunar base, so that the terrestrial satellite becomes an advanced base, a springboard for refueling before reaching the ultimate goal: the red planet, Mars.