French astronaut Thomas Pesquet is set to return to the International Space Station (ISS) in spring 2021, this time as commander—a first for any French astronaut.
Former airline pilot Thomas Pesquet, 43, became the tenth French astronaut in space on November 17, 2016. Over his first mission, he conducted around 100 experiments for ESA, CNES, and NASA, and completed two six-hour spacewalks (EVAs). That was only the beginning.
Since his return, Pesquet has openly shared his ambition to fly to the ISS again—with the Moon and Mars also on his radar.
That ambition becomes reality sooner than planned. Initially set for 2024, the mission advances to April 22, with Pesquet promoted to commander in a surprise announcement at Tuesday's press conference.
It's a milestone for France and just the third time a European astronaut leads such a mission. "I am very honored and pleased to be offered command of the Station for my second mission", Pesquet shared on Twitter.
Practically, he'll manage daily operations, support crew tasks, and lead in emergencies—though the team is fully trained for all scenarios, as ESA explained.
This flight marks a shift: Pesquet will ride a SpaceX Crew Dragon for the Crew-2 mission, unlike his prior Soyuz trip. He'll be the first ESA astronaut on one of these Falcon 9-launched capsules from Florida, USA.
Dubbed Alpha after Alpha Centauri, the Sun's nearest star neighbor, his crew includes NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, plus JAXA's Akihiko Hoshide.
They'll replace the Crew-1 team—Commander Michael Hopkins, pilot Victor J. Glover, and specialists Soichi Noguchi and Shannon Walker—who arrived via SpaceX in November.
