To undertake can only be conceived by making choices and taking decisions, and therefore risks. Progress and advancement are inseparable from this notion of risk and decision-making, which result from analysis grounded in knowledge and experience, as well as the capacity to imagine—without which nothing can be achieved. As Albert Einstein aptly expressed: imagination is more important than knowledge.

Air and space are dangerous and hostile domains when explored. The Russian, French, and American approaches differ in the role and responsibility assigned to humans. It is also interesting to observe the differences between a civilian aircraft and a military aircraft regarding safety requirements. But in all cases, with carefully selected and trained crews, the human element remains paramount.

It was very early on that Patrick Baudry learned to surpass what he believed were his limits. He learned to manage the risks inevitably associated with them. Stress management, the right measure of courage and fearless character, justified trust in highly responsible and qualified individuals, analysis, and a sense of responsibility all intertwine to successfully achieve a predetermined goal.

Learning to build and manage a team with excellence, and to unite talents to achieve a challenging goal that might initially seem impossible, are essential conditions for mastering risks and succeeding in a hostile environment.

However, the flights conducted today no longer meet these three criteria, and it is therefore time to move forward again—returning to the Moon to establish a permanent base, work there, and exploit the resources of our satellite. At the same time, exploration must continue, with Mars as our next step. Only what is difficult, or even impossible, is truly worth achieving !

We must therefore find, starting today, the means to revive the conquest of space and not allow ourselves—Europeans—to be sidelined from tomorrow’s exploration. We had so clearly understood the stakes of this adventure when the Hermès program was decided at the end of the 1980s. Have we lost the sense of history that guided the decision of the Ariane program a few years earlier? Today, we are reaping its rewards, and we must be innovative and daring—not only for our children but also for ourselves—to be worthy of this space history that is written every day.

• Knowing how to integrate into highly diverse teams
• Performing roles in areas of very different expertise
• Having an absolute sense of responsibility and accountability
• Putting into practice a constant pursuit of excellence
• Pursuing innovation in high technology
• Aligning individual efforts toward a collective goal
• Being aware that any mistake can be fatal
• Loving work
• Being passionate about what you do
• Incorporating imagination into everything undertaken
• Using role models to push oneself further
• Believing in yourself and the power of your dreams
• Managing the unexpected and integrating it into your plans
• Seizing opportunities as soon as they arise
• Finding within yourself the drivers of excellence

These are, then, some of the key principles that constitute the BAUDRY Method for cultivating a will for excellence in your organization, whatever it may be.

The human species has developed on our planet Earth, this shared “spaceship” that carries us through the Universe. The universe has always inspired humanity, constantly pushing us to move forward, explore, and understand. Our species, the only one on Earth endowed with curiosity, has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and can find in space answers that it cannot find on Earth.

Overcoming Earth’s gravity

The conquest of space began as soon as we mastered the techniques capable of overcoming Earth’s gravity. In 1961, the first human traveled into space, amid intense competition between East and West! Naturally, many questions arose regarding a human’s ability to survive the conditions of weightlessness, and the early missions were cautious and methodical.

Physically, selection and training ensure that astronauts can withstand the accelerations of launch and re-entry, as well as the lack of acceleration during the actual space flight.

Countering the effects of weightlessness on the body

Space medicine has therefore been fully integral to the conquest of space from the very beginning. This medicine, closely involved with astronauts and entirely dedicated to their selection, preparation, and training aboard spacecraft, has made it possible to understand, study, and manage the physical and physiological constraints associated with increasingly long-duration flights—some even lasting more than a year in space.

Areas of expertise in research

The most significant effects of a space flight are :

• A redistribution of fluids, particularly blood mass (impacting the entire cardiovascular system)
• Muscular system atrophy (loss of muscle tone)
• A change in the strategy of the neuro-sensory system (coordination, balance)
• Bone demineralization (weakening of the skeleton)

A set of countermeasures has therefore been developed—particularly by the Russians—during long-duration missions conducted on various operational space stations over the past 30 years.

Psychological research: a key element in understanding humans

Psychologically, selection and preparation again play a major role. However, the extremely high level of MOTIVATION among astronauts is undoubtedly the essential factor in the success of a mission.

Some human functions are strongly influenced by life in space. In this regard, it is interesting to observe how humans manage these new living conditions in microgravity :

• Sleep, which is difficult and unregulated compared to Earth
• Astronauts’ relationship with Time, which differs from Earth’s (16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours)
• Living together in a confined and limited space, with no possibility of changing surroundings
• The experience of flying rather than walking
• Being an Earthling, but in space

Available space

From a medical research perspective, space flights have provided experimental conditions that have been primarily used in neuro-sensory physiology. While space flights cannot be justified solely by their contribution to medical research, it is vital to make the best use of existing missions to advance this research, which can still teach us a great deal about the functioning of the human body. High-quality, long-duration microgravity can only be achieved in orbit in space.

Going to space is, above all, a magnificent dream. An irresistible drive that shapes a life until the moment one takes their place aboard a spacecraft. In less than 9 minutes, a human is propelled beyond their world, beyond their home planet, into a different environment—unknown, dangerous, astonishing, and mesmerizing. Nine tiny minutes of dreaming—magical, intense, unforgettable…

But what is it like to wait ?
What does one feel at the moment of liftoff ?

Going to space means discovering a reality even more beautiful than anything we could have imagined. The view from orbit is extraordinarily stunning and majestic. Earth shines with an intense emotional power. Lost in the midst of an absolutely black universe, its beauty is both magnificent and fragile. Contemplating it is a never-ending source of wonder.

What do you see in space ?
What does one think about ?
What happens inside a shuttle ?

It is through six themes—energy, solitude, risk, time, the senses, and light—that Patrick Baudry, the famous French astronaut, shares with us his reflections and impressions, partly inspired by this unique and privileged view of Earth from the outside. So much beauty, so many shades, and breathtaking landscapes that delight both the eyes and the mind, leaving a lasting impression for a lifetime !

For we are all passengers on the same vessel: every man, every woman who has gazed from space upon the delicate halo of an atoll or the blazing flames of a thunderstorm’s lightning could not help but think: “This is my home, here, this is my house.” And there, all borders, political regimes, and human pettiness vanish: Earth is one, bounded only by the gentle roundness of its surface, rich with mountains and abyssal depths, carrying its millions of living species like a spaceship… or a Noah’s ark. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the great pioneer of Russian astronautics, wrote at the end of the 19th century (already!): “Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one does not live in the cradle forever.”

Faster, higher, farther: man is eager to explore the third dimension, the one that has already led him to the Moon and which, in the near future, will push him to set foot on the surface of Mars, the Red Planet. At 80 million kilometers away, this celestial body, fervently bearing the name of the god of war, is a devastated world. Images sent back by the latest Martian probes show a planet with a very thin atmosphere, a surface ravaged by meteorites, and that experienced, millions of years ago, geological activity powerful enough to produce a volcano 12 kilometers high !

You dreamed a little while reading these lines; now it’s up to you to keep the dream alive and share it with your loved ones and with Patrick Baudry : in sounds and images !

Seeing his planet from the outside also convinced him that, at a time when so many people still kill each other, all forms of conflict are harmful.