A few minutes before taking his seat aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, Thomas Pesquet greeted his companion Anne Mottet one last time.
The couple couldn't hug and had to say goodbye from a distance, separated by a security cordon.
Covid-19 or not, this is the strict protocol imposed by NASA to avoid contamination.
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After a few words exchanged with his partner, Thomas Pesquet got into the car which drives him with his three other teammates aboard the Crew Dragon. The capsule took off at 09:49 GMT towards the International Space Station. Sut Twitter, Anne Mottet posted a photo of her last kiss sent to the astronaut with the caption “From now on I'm watching you on TV”. The French astronaut's Alpha mission is to last six months aboard the International Space Station.