Thomas and Matthias astro chats: training

Join ESA astronauts Thomas Pesquet and Matthias Maurer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, USA. In part one of this video series, the two astronauts compare notes on their journey to date as they prepare for missions to the International Space Station.

Though mission details and dates are yet to be confirmed, Thomas and Matthias are the next two European astronauts in line for flights. Thomas has flown to the International Space Station before, while Matthias will fly for the first time.

Prior to a mission, astronauts train extensively to ensure they are familiar with the vast array of systems and operations on board. In this video, the pair discuss how training for a second mission differs from a first mission, the challenges of training during a global pandemic, and how flying to the Station on US commercial crew vehicles may differ from flying on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

This video was filmed in June 2020. At that time, the platform Thomas and Matthias were standing on – in front of a full-scale mock-up of the International Space Station – was the only place at NASA’s JSC that they could interact without face masks. Despite this, the pair were required to maintain social distance at all times as a precaution.