N° 12–2021: Call for media: Q&A with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet

Registered journalists will be able to ask questions to Thomas Pesquet, during a live Q&A session on Monday 19 April, from 14:30 to 15:00 (CEST).

Thomas is set to launch on 22 April at 12:11 (CEST): he will be the first ESA astronaut to fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon, that will be launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida, USA. He will accompany NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.

In collaboration with the French space agency CNES, the launch on 22 April will be streamed live with commentary in French and English, and will be broadcast on ESA Web TV. The crew’s docking with the Harmony module of the International Space Station is currently scheduled for Friday 23 April at 11:30 (CEST).

Media registration

Please register online at: https://www.esa.int/Contact/mediaregistration by 18 April 2021.

The press conference will be streamed at esawebtv.esa.int, but only registered media will be able to ask questions (in English and French).

Upcoming events are posted on the launch calendar and events calendar at www.esa.int/newsroom.

Contact

If you have further questions or interview requests, please contact media@esa.int.

Social media

Follow ESA on

Twitter: @esa, @esaspaceflight, @Thom_astro
Instagram: Europeanspaceagency
Facebook: EuropeanSpaceAgency
YouTube: ESA

Further information:

NASA will provide coverage for the upcoming Crew-2 launch with several media opportunities. You will find a detailed list of upcoming dates in the link below:

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/coverage-set-for-nasa-s-spacex-crew-2-briefings-events-broadcasts

Information on the Alpha mission can be found on www.esa.int/MissionAlpha with latest updates on the Exploration blog at thomaspesquet.esa.int.

The Alpha mission brochure is available at: www.esa.int/AlphaBrochure

Images

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images

Terms and conditions for using ESA images:
www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images

For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int.

Videos

Video B-roll of Thomas training for the Alpha mission is available on ESA’s videos for professionals:

https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2020/12/Thomas_Pesquet_Alpha_mission_training

https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2021/03/Thomas_Pesquet_Mission

https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2021/03/Thomas_Pesquet_Bio_Training

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos

Terms and conditions for using ESA videos:
https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Terms_and_Conditions

For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int.

About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Slovenia and Latvia are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with six Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int

For further information:

ESA Newsroom and Media Relations Office – Ninja Menning

Email: media@esa.int

Tel: +31 71 565 6409