In space, nobody can hear you moan of pain – simply because the sound cannot propagate through the vibration of air molecules, completely absent. On the other hand, nothing prohibits the astronauts complain when they are in a shuttle or space station. And it is this which occurs, in particular during their first steps in weightlessness, and what highlights Jean-Christophe Ribot in The guinea Pigs of the cosmos, secrets of the astronauts.
And this documentary go further by establishing a parallel between the activity of the astronauts and the notion of the ” guinea pigs “. After all, anyone who has seen The Stuff of heroes or the recent First Man in suit : these men and women owe their salvation to a curious mixture of technological innovations and courage archaic, even if the risks tend to decrease. “It is obvious that the profile of the astronauts has strongly evolved over decades, says Jean-Christophe Ribot. At the beginning of the space conquest, the Americans and the Russians chose to test drivers known for their cold blood, their next daredevil but respectful orders. Today, the astronauts always have this passion of discovery, but they are chosen for their intellectual and physical abilities. “
Launched such as hamsters
In fact, today, the materials have evolved, the specification of the astronauts beyond the simple “conquest of space” : now it is time to gather information in referred scientific. However, a reality remains : body and psyche are subject to strong constraints. Under the effect of microgravity, loss of muscle mass, bone density, and loss of sight can be combined. Launched like hamsters in vehicles covered with aluminum at speeds exceeding that of sound, the pioneers and the most young people share a same observation : life in space and back on Earth are not a long quiet river.
Thomas Pesquet, Jean-Pierre Haigneré, Cady Coleman or Alexandr Lazutkin : 12 astronauts, who speak in turn at the microphone of Jean-Christophe Ribot, sharing their experiences of nausea, loneliness, and ill-being. As if the psychological and medical has increased dramatically, the area remains a hostile territory. “In the 1950s, a chasm exists between the daily life of astronauts and the support by the military psychologists to methods of nags ! Today, this field is better apprehended, often at the request of the astronauts themselves. For them, the main fear was not physical, but psychological. “
And the documentary filmmaker to conclude by raising the possibility of a trip to Mars, the long and the outcome uncertain. “The situation is comparable to the great explorers of the Renaissance, going into an unknown world. We don’t know what they will find or how will the trip. “
