My first mission was 2016-2017, and my second mission was five years later in 2021.

They’re getting stronger and stronger year after year. The most visual visible effect is glaciers retreating year after year and mission after mission.īut what you can see as well is extreme weather phenomena. Some of them are from climate change, and some of it is just plain old pollution, e.g. Pesquet: You can see a lot of the consequences of human activities from space. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.Ī post shared by Thomas Pesquet What are the real effects of climate change that are visible from space? Limited resources in space provide an opportunity to model human behavior on a planet with dwindling resources, and Pesquet wants to highlight the parallels between life on a spacecraft and life on Earth.ĬNN spoke to Pesquet at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. As an astronaut on board the ISS he supported the FAO’s research into agricultural innovation and methods of food production. He says that since his previous visit to space, in 2016, the consequences of human activity have become even more apparent, with glaciers visibly retreating, and a rise in extreme weather events.Įnvironmental concern motivated him to become a UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Goodwill Ambassador. Pesquet says that even from space the effects of climate change are visible. His Instagram account is bursting with beautiful images of “the blue ball we call home.” But the beauty is tainted.

Long periods with his feet off solid ground gave him a unique and privileged perspective on our planet. French astronaut Thomas Pesquet spent six months aboard the International Space Station last year, and his view of the Earth was as alarming as it was breathtaking.

Seeing iss from earth