Washington – In 2023, Frank Rubio became the American astronaut who has spent the longest time in space and the 371 days he spent in space International Space Station They allow him to underline the need for these types of missions: “Space exploration is incredibly expensive, but important”he stated this Tuesday.
Surrounded by his companions who were part of Expedition 69 – also Americans Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg and the Emirati Sultan Alneyadi– Rubio admitted from the headquarters of the US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Washington that space represents a sacrifice both nationally and individually.
“But it is important because of the technology and science we are working on”The astronaut, 48 years old and of Salvadoran origin, said in an interview with EFE.
Its mission concluded in September of last year and, according to the US space agency, it gave researchers the opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration space flights on humans with an eye toward future trips to space. Moon.
NASA has delayed the manned mission to 2025 Artemis II, which must fly over the satellite, and in September 2026 Artemis III, which will send astronauts there.
“The first challenge is to return to the Moon. The distances are a little difficult to understand. The Station is only 250 miles away, the Moon is 250,000 and of course, Mars, incredibly further. It is important to practice the steps that we are going to use to get to Mars and beyond first,” says the astronaut.
In the ISS, he stressed, there is no place for politics: “We are doing a mission that is incredibly difficult and has a bit of risk. “We all do a great job of not arguing politics and focusing on the mission.”
For this reason, both he and other of his colleagues stressed that the future American leader after the elections next November, whether the Democrat Joe Biden or the Republican donald trumpshould keep in mind that the goals of space exploration exceed national interests and must be protected.
1/9 | Photos | Moment in which three astronauts return to Earth after spending more than a year in space. A NASA astronaut and two cosmonauts from the Russian agency Roscosmos landed in a remote area of Kazakhstan and got off a Russian-made Soyuz capsule.
-Bill Ingalls
“The Agency represents everyone. We do it not only for the benefit of our country, but of humanity. (…) I trust that whoever the president is, they will continue to support our mission,” stressed Rubio, who is one of the astronauts of the Artemis Program, but does not yet know if he will be selected to go to the Moon.
For his partner Bowen, there are no limits to space exploration. “I am convinced that if 30 years ago we had decided to go to Mars we would already be there, but it requires political will, a commitment, and it will probably be cheaper to try now than then,” he also explained to EFE.
The advances that allow space exploration, in his opinion, have an influence that reaches from space to Earth, although it is not merely in the space field.
“The Station modules had to be assembled. It is an engineering achievement and it is part of exploration. What we learn influences how things are produced throughout the world. That aspect of exploration, those little things, have an influence forever.”he concluded.