Thomas Pesquet, French astronaut, publicly advocated that Europe and his country should "maximize the scientific return" from the next mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) to the International Space Station (ISS). The astronaut made this call in the context of a communication about European space plans.
Pesquet underscored the importance of space flight for European strategic sovereignty in space. This position comes at a time when the priorities for ESA's next crewed missions to the ISS are being discussed.
The astronaut emphasized that Europe must not waste the opportunity to obtain significant scientific results with this mission. His appeal aims to ensure that the resources invested in the mission result in concrete benefits for European science.
This intervention by Pesquet comes within the framework of a broader debate on the future of European involvement in the crewed space program and on how Europe can assert its position in the international space scenario.
