(ORDO NEWS) — ESA‘s Pangea Training Course has trained ten astronauts from three space agencies since 2016, equipping them with the field geology knowledge and skills needed to explore the Moon.
The publication describes the approaches used by the team to prepare astronauts for exploration of the lunar surface.
“In our experience, astronauts perform best when they are given a reasonable degree of autonomy.
We educate in astronauts the desire for true exploration,” explains planetary scientist and instructor Matteo Massironi.
During the course, the training becomes more difficult, and the astronauts face difficulties in real conditions.
As listeners move forward, their perspective changes and they find motivation in the pursuit of scientific discovery.
“We don’t want them to act like robots. We want them to become the most efficient field scientists they can be.
We train them to lead research and make decisions with the support of a remote scientific team,” says Massironi.
The European Pangea training program builds on the legacy of the Apollo program.
Although Apollo ended almost 50 years ago, it remains the only example of a space program where geological preparation was necessary for the success of the mission.
After the first class sessions, a team of instructors made up of Europe‘s leading planetary geologists are slowly allowing astronauts to spend more time on their own.
Their geology training takes them to the Italian dolomite mountain range, known for its pristine sedimentary layers, to the Rhys impact crater in Germany, to the Spanish volcanic island of Lanzarote, and to the Norwegian fjords of Lofoten.
There, astronauts study rocks similar to those found in the lunar highlands.
The similarity of these European objects with lunar and Martian geology lends realism to the research.
Although inspired by the legacy of the Apollo era, Pangea incorporates many modern advances in technology and scientific knowledge.
In 2017, the team began developing a new system for recording, structuring, and delivering information collected in the field, including images, data from analytical tools, 3D maps, and audio recordings.
The result of this development was the Electronic Field Book, a unique tool that made sampling more efficient.
Even though Pangea is not a mission-specific training course, it will be updated to remain relevant to current exploration scenarios.
The team is ready to share the experience gained over the years.
“The course has reached such a level of maturity that we feel we can make a valuable contribution to the community of planetary scientists and future astronauts,” says Francesco Sauro, course director.
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