Speaking at the International Space Summit in Paris, French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet urged Europe and France to "maximise the scientific return" from the next European mission to the International Space Station (ISS), which he will command in summer 2027. The mission, designated PAM-6, is seen as one of the last opportunities for European-led research aboard the ageing orbital laboratory.
"We know the ISS is coming to an end soon and we don't know when Europe and specifically France's next turn will come again, given that long-term missions are assigned on a rotating basis," Pesquet told Euronews. The ISS is scheduled to be deorbited in 2030, a decision driven by deteriorating hardware, rising maintenance costs, and the space industry's pivot toward commercial ventures.
The station, whose first modules were launched by Russia and the United States in late 1998, has hosted astronauts continuously since 2000. Europe and Japan contributed their own laboratory modules, while Canada supplied robotic arms. For Pesquet, the remaining years before retirement represent a finite window to conduct experiments that could benefit medicine, materials science, and our understanding of life in microgravity.
Strategic sovereignty in a fragmented world
The summit, co-hosted by France and Germany, brought together industry leaders, heads of state, and astronauts to push for greater European autonomy in space. Pesquet stressed that relying on long-term international partnerships has become increasingly difficult amid geopolitical upheaval. "Given the upheavals in the geopolitical landscape, without getting into the details, it's clear that it's difficult to rely on long-term partners; consistency has become a rare commodity on the international stage," he said. "We believe we must first do things ourselves first."
Europe's push to develop independent space capabilities has been accelerated by Russia's war in Ukraine and a desire to reduce dependence on the United States. The conflict has highlighted the strategic importance of space services, as seen in Ukraine's reliance on Elon Musk's Starlink for communications when ground infrastructure is destroyed.
Pesquet envisions a future with multiple smaller space stations rather than one giant facility. "Going forward, maybe there will be more small stations rather than one large station — a European station. I'd really like to see American, Indian, and Chinese stations. We're also preparing for that world, which is coming very quickly," he said.
Despite the competitive landscape, Pesquet emphasized that once astronauts are in orbit, geopolitics tends to fade. A single crew can include members from ESA, Russia's Roscosmos, and NASA. "I remember the early days of my career, around 2011, when we already tended to focus on the things we had in common, on the very things that brought us together — rather than talking about the things that divided us," he recalled. "When you're part of a crew — on a boat, in a plane, or in a submarine, it's part of collective intelligence, so we keep this attitude. Obviously, relations between organisations aren't always easy. But at least at our level we don't want that to affect our work, we don't want it to affect safety, so we maintain healthy relationships."
Europe's new space strategy
ESA significantly increased its funding in November 2025, approving a record €22.3 billion budget for 2026–2028, with €35 billion earmarked for space security and defence. Géraldine Naja, ESA's director of space transportation, said Europe has "understood" that it needs a change of strategy after historically investing far less than the US and China. "If you compare GNP and the number of people, we are spending six times less than the US," she noted.
Naja pointed to the successful launch of the Spectrum rocket by German startup Isar Aerospace on Saturday as a milestone. "Spectrum is a rocket built and developed by Isar Aerospace, which was incubated in Bavaria, which benefited from several ESA programmes that aim to support new companies and help them commercialise their products," she said. "Space is very important to defence because the technologies are different and also we have now realised that space tools are absolutely necessary for any defence policy."
As Europe navigates this transition, Pesquet's message is clear: the scientific dividends from the ISS must not be squandered. With the station's retirement looming, every remaining mission counts. The continent's ability to conduct cutting-edge research in orbit — and to do so independently — will shape its role in the next era of space exploration.
