Video: 00:22:19

Step inside astronaut training with ESA astronaut Pablo Álvarez Fernández as he shares his training journey from Cologne in Germany to Houston in the US. Discover what it’s like to wear a 145 kg spacesuit underwater, train for emergencies like fires and ammonia leaks and prepare for the ultimate astronaut dream: a spacewalk. Plus, Pablo talks about life in Houston, teamwork under pressure and what’s next on his path to the stars. 

This interview was recorded in December 2024. 

You can listen to this episode on all major podcast platforms. 

Keep exploring with ESA Explores!

NASA has selected a heliophysics mission to move into the next phase of development amid broader concerns about the state of the field.

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Dec 12, 2025
Researchers from the School of Physics at the University of the Witwatersrand, working with collaborators at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, report that controlling the structure of photons in space and time allows quantum states to be tailored for use in communication, sensing and imaging. The team focuses on structured photons, where spatial, temporal or spectral properties are delibera

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 12, 2025
Sidus Space Inc has been selected as a subcontractor to MobLobSpace Inc under a NASA Small Business Innovation Research award to support a mission concept hosting a space-based 4D radar system on the LizzieSat satellite platform for space domain awareness. The six-month Phase I effort will concentrate on mission design and planning for integrating the radar payload with LizzieSat to delive

London, UK (SPX) Dec 12, 2025
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. has secured an order of about 10 million dollars for a customized Earth observation direct downlink solution to be delivered over the next 12 months. The contract was awarded to Gilat DataPath and broadens the role of Gilat Defense from satellite communications into Earth observation and geospatial intelligence. The system is based on a transportable direct do

Chicago IL (SPX) Dec 12, 2025
Quantum technology is accelerating out of the lab and into the real world, and a new article in Science argues that the field now stands at a turning point - one that is similar to the early computing age that preceded the rise of the transistor and modern computing. The article, authored by scientists from University of Chicago, Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technolo

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 12, 2025
Antares has raised $96 million in Series B financing to support development and deployment of its compact nuclear microreactors for defense and space customers. The round, led by Shine Capital with participation from Alt Capital, Caffeinated, FiftyThree Stations, Industrious and other investors, includes $71 million in new equity and $25 million in debt earmarked for equipment purchases, factory

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 12, 2025
IHI-SAT2, a hyperspectral 6U CubeSat built by Kongsberg NanoAvionics for Japan's IHI Corporation, has reached orbit and established two-way communications shortly after deployment from a SpaceX Falcon 9 on the Transporter-15 rideshare mission launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on 28 November 2025. The mission is intended as a step toward IHI's planned Earth observation const

Image: Following International Mountain Day, which creates awareness of the importance of mountain environments around the world, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the Pariacaca Mountain Range in Peru.