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Manned flights: "Europe must position itself" for the Moon or Mars

2021-04-23T18:20:04.033Z


INTERVIEW - Didier Schmitt, head of strategy and coordination for robotic and human exploration at the European Space Agency (Esa), details the organization's plan to convince politicians to launch programs.


LE FIGARO.

-

Thomas Pesquet's return to space

, joining the International Space Station (ISS) with the Crew Dragon capsule, illustrates Europe's dependence on manned flights.

Can Europe maintain this status quo?

To discover

  • Covid-19: instructions for use of self-tests

Didier SCHMITT. -

Politicians decided in the early 1990s to stop the Hermes shuttle program, which would have allowed Europe to be autonomous in manned flights. We are still suffering the consequences thirty years later. However, the space race is relaunched with the return of the United States in human space flights, thanks to SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule and, soon, the Boeing Starliner, not to mention the return to the Moon. China is gaining momentum with great spatial ambitions. Beijing will send, in a few weeks, the first element of its future space station, into low orbit. The Chinese station will permanently accommodate three taikonauts. India is also launching a program of manned flights and a "visitable" space station.

Read also:

SpaceX: manufacturers regret the absence of a European manned flight program

Should Europe embark on human space flights to reach Earth orbit?

I think it's a bit late.

We would be the 5th or 6th actor in the game. Is there really room for us?

By the time it takes to develop a manned capsule that would be launched by Ariane 6, within seven to ten years, the ISS will be at the end of its life, probably refitted for commercial and tourist activities.

And the other space nations will be far ahead of us, settled on the Moon and on their way to Mars.

It should have been done before, when we knew that the ISS had thirty years of activity ahead of it!

In exploration, when you miss a turn, it's almost impossible to turn things around.

What is our option?

Europe may have to mourn human space flight between Earth and low orbit, unless it becomes a proven place of commercial and industrial activity.

It would then take an inexpensive solution to convince states to invest in an Uber space taxi.

But the real stakes will lie beyond, between Earth's orbit and the Moon as well as towards Mars.

Europe must position itself on this type of manned flight today.

In ten years, it will be too late, and we will have missed another turn ...

Read also:

FIG DATA: Falcon 9, the rocket that takes Pesquet to the stars

What does Esa offer?

We could propose to become the leader in long-lasting space habitable systems, where at least five astronauts could live, eat, sleep, and heal themselves in complete autonomy.

It is a project that will lead to innovations in all fields - energy, recycling, virtual presence, materials, telehealth, etc. - because there is everything to be invented for the maintenance of life in space, with no return for three years.

Which will be the case when humans go to Mars.

What is the program envisaged by Esa?

During the ESA Council at ministerial level at the end of 2022, we will propose to the Member States a program for the development of a large-sized lunar lander, which would land next to Artemis flights, with, in this case on board, a European astronaut circa 2028/29. This "lander" will be multifunction, capable of carrying scientific instruments, or a survival system for the lunar night (which lasts 14 days!), Or even a mobile pressurized module, which would have two missions: to allow scientific experiments to be carried out and test the long-term survival mode in a totally enclosed environment. It would be a way of demonstrating our mastery of living in isolation over a long period of time to our American partners. Our solution could be used later to settle on Mars.

Read also:

The powers vie for interest in the Moon

Are States ready to finance such a program?

The question of human space flights for "deep space" is on the table. We feel a tremor, a questioning. At the end of 2021, the Orion spacecraft with its service module (ESM) developed by ESA and European industry, must make a first (unmanned) Earth-Moon round trip, as part of the Artemis-1 mission launched by The NASA. China wants to commission its space station in 2022 and plans to settle on the Moon in ten years. Beijing is also targeting Mars with a probe, launched last July, which orbits the red planet. A lander is due to land there next May, deploying a remote-controlled robot. The competition between the two superpowers is everywhere. This is a game-changer for Europe. If we don't enter this race,we will no longer be part of the club and we will have to be satisfied with seeing the others settle on the Moon and on Mars. This is the historic stake of the next Council of Ministers in 2022 and which is being prepared at the moment.

Source: lefigaro

All tech articles on 2021-04-23

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