Thomas Pesquet, astronaut… and total humility!
Thomas Pesquet really surprised me when we talked about the stress of an astronaut on a mission. And this has nothing to do with the #Gravity or #InterStellar movies!!!
And yet…
Thomas was preparing his 2nd mission. Everything is under control. Every move is rehearsed as much as necessary. Because it has be accomplished with almost no emotional stress. I could personally observe this type of measurements (HRV) during our speed records with Eric Barone.
In spite of all this preparatory work, Thomas confided to me that he had a very “scary” moment.
As planned, he found himself in a spacesuit, at the end of the 17m articulated arm, manipulated by his colleague Megan from the ISS with 2 joysticks… alone in the dark of space, with only our blue planet as a reference point, 400 km below him,
Against all odds, he was overcome with anxiety and a huge feeling of vertigo. A form of animal instinct caught up with him in this very hostile environment.
He explained to me that he managed this critical moment totally unexpected. And of course he “did the job”.
Even if we are very well prepared, without this form of humility towards our own reactions, we can put ourselves in great danger.
But in our society, is humility a real strength or rather a weakness?
Crédit Photo #ESA / #ThomasPesquet
