Thomas Pesquet, l'étoffe d'un héros

Stress-resistance and iron-clad resolve are two qualities that helped enthusiastic pilot Pesquet get on board a space mission. His physical and mental training took seven years. We primarily see the final year of the taxing, complex preparations he underwent alongside Russian pilot Oleg Novitsky and American astronaut Peggy Whitson. The latter is incidentally the most experienced space traveller on the planet.

Surrounded by a host of engineers, the crew drill extreme situations and disasters until, ultimately, after all the simulations in Houston, Baikonur and Moscow they are ready to do the real work in orbit for 196 days. The people on board the Proxima are the subjects of a follow-up documentary about the French hero. One thing is clear, only the physically and mentally fittest earthlings can dream of a career outside the earth’s atmosphere.