French astronaut has faith in international cooperation

After six months in space, Earth was an “overdose of sensations,” said French astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

Pesquet did a six-month mission on the International Space Station. He breathed recycled air and lived in a sterile, drab environment.

He landed in Kazakhstan on June 2. He spoke to the press on June 6.

The smell of fresh air and cut grass, and the riot of colors, overwhelmed him, he said.

The main thing he learned from his time in space was that international cooperation is possible.

On ISS, astronauts can come from any country. Once aboard, they form a team, and support each other. They all have essential tasks to complete. Cooperation is necessary for survival, let alone success.

“It gave me faith in a lot of things, it gave me faith in international cooperation,” Pesquet explained. “We do it every day within the European Space Agency, and then we are even going to slightly expand cooperation with some partners … NASA, the Russians, the Canadians, the Japanese. It works, it’s not just a state of mind. Europe works. It’s not easy, it’s not always easy to make Europe work, but it works. We see it every day here with the astronauts, we see it every day at the heart of the ESA. It allows us to do things that we would be incapable of doing by ourselves.”