Extreme-environment training for would-be astronauts

A hand-picked group of students, including several from EPFL, spent a grueling weekend at a space boot camp in Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps. The would-be astronauts were preparing for the Asclepios space mission analog, run by EPFL student association [email protected] - First, they had to cut through the ice before slipping on a dry suit and entering one of the most extreme environments on Earth - the ice-cold water of a frozen lake. During the day and at night. Last weekend, eight fearless students headed to Crans-Montana, high in the Swiss Alps, for the dive at Lake Moubra. The exercise was just one of several grueling activities at a boot camp organized by EPFL association [email protected] as part of the Asclepios space mission analog. A week in isolation - "We came up with the idea for the Asclepios mission in August 2019," says Chloé Carrière, who runs the association. "We wanted to simulate a manned space mission to another celestial body, and to make it as realistic as possible." The young team called in specialists to help, including Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier, French explorer Alban Michon and experts from the European Space Agency (ESA).