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French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet: Europe must 'maximise scientific return' from ISS before closure

The French astronaut urged Europe and his home country to "maximise the scientific return" from the European Space Agency's next mission to the International Space Station, while stressing the importance of spaceflight for Europe’s strategic sovereignty in space.

READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/09/11/french-esa-astronaut-thomas-pesquet-europe-must-maximise-scientific-return-from-iss-before

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00:01Astronauts, world leaders and space companies met in Paris for a two-day summit Wednesday and Thursday as Europe seeks
00:09to reduce its reliance on the U.S. and strengthen its space sector.
00:13European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Bisque said he firmly supports the idea of greater European space collaboration.
00:22On se rend bien compte avec les soubresauts de la géopolitique, sans entrer dans les détails, que c'est compliqué
00:28de compter sur les gens dans la durée, sur le long terme.
00:32La constance s'est devenue quelque chose de difficile au niveau international, les choses changent très vite, parfois assez brutalement.
00:38Donc on pense qu'il faut d'abord faire les choses nous-mêmes, avec nos partenaires européens.
00:44Geraldine Najjar, director of space transportation at the European Space Agency, stressed that investment remains a key issue.
00:52Europe is investing far less than the U.S. or China in space.
00:58If you compare, let's say, a GNP, a number of people, we are spending like six times less than the
01:05U.S.
01:06So, of course, I would like to say the biggest weakness is we don't invest enough.
01:10But now I think Europe has understood.
01:14Space technologies play an important role in satellite navigation for both civilian and military purposes.
01:22Russia's war in Ukraine has also shown how strategically important these technologies can be in modern warfare,
01:28with Elon Musk's Starlink network emerging as a key example.
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