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The Eclosion experiment arrived at the International Space Station. The students of Toulouse designed it so that Thomas Pesquet would maintain a plant link with the earth. Astronaut is going to grow a marigold.
Of all the experiments conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) by Thomas Pesquet, “Eclosion” is the most poetic. Inside a transparent capsule will grow a marigold, the traveling companion of the astronaut, who will have to look after it like his little prince of roses. On the premise that Thomas Pesquet would be able to open every two weeks, signed messages from his relatives await him, each containing a capsule of a vegetable scent (rose, violet, mint, anise or pine).
“We wanted to bring a little beauty to the ISS and bring Thomas Pesquet closer to Earth”
The marigold should grow inside the capsule. Association
“With Eclosion, we wanted to bring beauty to the ISS and bring Thomas Pesquet closer to Earth thanks to plants. We hope that spending this time caring for a flower or looking at it will bring him joy”, Association Eclosion Eve Tessier, a student of plant biology at the University of Toulouse III-Paul-Sabétier, co-founder of
Generation ISS Competition Winners
Eklosion was born out of the merger of two winning projects of the “Generation ISS” competition organized by Cnes (National Center for Space Studies) (1). Students from the University of Toulouse III-Paul-Sabétier and the Nantes Design School worked for two years to develop a manipulation with spatial features. In particular, it was necessary to find a solution that would save energy (the plant receives light from LEDs) and water (a precious resource in the ISS), sterilize the seeds in bleach and alcohol at 90 °C, substrate will focus on. The capsule was designed in conjunction with teams from the CADMOS (Center for the Development of Microgravity Activities and Space Operations) at the Toulouse Space Center (Cnes).
The “Eklo” team is made up of students from the University of Toulouse III-Paul-Sabétier and the Nantes Design School. In the photo: Clara Joult, Flavi Simon-Barboux, Enzo Zouie, Bastien Padiollou, Alyssa Youub, Kylian Cornillon, Florian Cargouet and Emma Brossaud, Paul Payne de la Garanderie and Eve Tessier – Missing in the photo: Jules Lerouge and Nathan Mathes Association
“Working in space was a dream. This experience allowed me to develop a research and development project with great rigor and necessity. Now that everything is on board, we can’t wait to follow the experience to take full advantage of it,” says Eve Tessier, who expects Thomas Pesquet to send regular updates on the plant.
Support distant exploration missions
According to the program of the European Space Agency (ESA), the French astronaut is to begin the experiment on August 19 by hydrating the substrate on which 5 marigold seeds are glued. Monitoring and photographing are planned every two weeks to follow the development of the plant until Thomas de Pesquet’s departure from the ISS in October 2021.
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Thomas Pesquet has the ultimate experience prepared for him in Toulouse
Eclosion is one of ten experiments developed at SENS in Toulouse for the Alpha mission. Through its visual, sensitive and psychological aspect, it symbolizes reflection on astronauts’ accompaniment for long exploration missions.
