Thomas during training in the Soyuz TMA simulator

ESA's French astronaut Thomas Pesquet during a simulation inside the full-scale mockup of the Soyuz capsule, at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, in Russia, on 16 October 2014.

Each crew members needs to be capable of reacting correctly and expeditiously to emergency situations. These situations are rehearsed over and over again during the training and include crew responses to fire, depressurisation and to toxic atmosphere.

Thomas Pesquet has been assigned to be launched on a Soyuz spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in 2016 for a long-duration mission to the International Space Station.