Frenchwoman Sophie Adeno, who received a new European astronaut promotion last November, admitted on Friday that she is “looking forward” to starting training in early April, sparking “happiness and incredible enthusiasm” in the Cite de l. Espace from Toulouse.
“I look forward to all these space adventures, whether it be working with expert teams, astronauts, training, simulations, trips to Houston, Canada, to Japan to discover the different modules that we will have to work on. .”, She said.
“I am in a state of incredible enthusiasm, I have extra energy,” she added at the end of a two-day visit, spent with the Frenchman Arnaud Prost, chosen as a reserve astronaut, in Toulouse, in particular. at the National Center for Space Studies (CNES), at ISAE-Supaéro (the school of aeronautical engineering they both attended), and at Airbus.
Sophie Adenot, 40, will begin her training on April 1 at the European Astronaut Center (EAC) in Cologne, Germany with a 12 to 14 month course, “Basic Training”.
It is a “multi-disciplinary and rather general training on all the topics that we will have to deal with as astronauts: the study of medicine, emergency medicine, because you have to be able to provide first aid in case of need, understand the space systems that we will have to operate on, a little to work out in the pool, in emergency situations, etc., ”she clarified.
At the end of this initial training, one of the five astronauts participating in the promotion will be selected and begin “mission-specific training that typically lasts two years before being able to take off.”
According to Sophie Adenot, the rest will be divided among “several tasks: maintaining skills, helping develop future space exploration missions, helping with communication between station crews and ground crews.”
“What am I afraid of? Not much at the moment,” she admitted, explaining that she was glad to be on the school benches when her pilot is currently scheduled to test a helicopter “in the morning of Puma (French military aviation). transport), Chinook afternoon (American heavy maneuverable helicopter), Caracal the next day (military transport, Airbus) and afternoon after NH90 (European Maneuver and Assault helicopter).”
Didier Schmitt, head of human spaceflight strategy and coordination at ESA, said that European astronaut training will “change significantly in the coming years” with “the aim of the moon.”
“We are preparing a new generation of astronauts who will completely go beyond the simple fact of going into an orbiting space station 400 km and back, then we will go 400,000 km and land on the moon.”
To do this, you need profiles that can remain “humble,” he explained: “It’s not just about the astronaut, it’s about the 1,000 people who prepared the missions. It’s also the ability to make the right decisions at the right time.”
Last November, the European Space Agency (ESA) appointed five new astronauts. In addition to Sophie Adeno, Rosemary Coogan, a 31-year-old British woman, and three men are participating in the new promotion: Swiss Marco Sieber, Spaniard Pablo Alvarez Fernandez and Belgian Rafael Liejoie.
They all join seven European astronauts from the 2009 class, which included two Germans, two Italians, a British, a Dane and a Frenchman, Thomas Pesce.