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Coustenis, a research director at France\u2019s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and a member of the board of the Hellenic Space Center, took part in the International Space Summit in Paris, where she also represented Greece\u2019s national space agency.<\/p>\n
The summit, held in Paris on Wednesday and Thursday, brought together representatives of governments, scientists and businesses to discuss Europe\u2019s future in space.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a very important conference for Europe because Europe must acquire this autonomy in the space sector,\u201d Coustenis said from the Grand Palais in Paris. She said greater autonomy would help Europe respond to wars, adversity and differences between nations.<\/p>\n
She said Europe was moving closer to achieving that goal because summits of this kind bring countries and people together. She also noted signs of consensus among European countries as well as participating countries from Africa and Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone has the same spirit, and this makes me particularly happy,\u201d she said, adding that Europe needed this kind of summit to demonstrate unity. She also welcomed Greece\u2019s equal participation.<\/p>\n
Greece prepares for its first astronaut<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n The summit held particular significance for Greece following Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis\u2019 announcement of Adrianos Golemis as Greece\u2019s first astronaut.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important that we will have the opportunity to send our own astronaut, who will be able to conduct experiments on the International Space Station,\u201d Coustenis said.<\/p>\n She explained that such experiments could strengthen Greece\u2019s scientific capabilities while also creating opportunities for the country\u2019s industry.<\/p>\n Coustenis is involved in selecting experiments proposed by Greek scientists for the International Space Station. The proposals focus on new research that Greek scientists and industry can support domestically.<\/p>\n The experiments will cover medicine, the human body\u2019s response to microgravity, radiation measurement and materials science.<\/p>\n Greece\u2019s role in space<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Coustenis believes Greece can play a significant role in the international space sector.<\/p>\n \u201cGreece has many advantages,\u201d she said, pointing to the country\u2019s satellites, scientists involved in space missions and data relevant to the global space community.<\/p>\n That includes data on climate change, wildfires and the oceans. She described Greece as a hub with much to offer and said the Hellenic Space Center plays a key role in coordinating these capabilities.<\/p>\n Coustenis\u2019 own research focuses on exploring the outer Solar System and investigating conditions that could support life.<\/p>\n She currently participates in four major space missions: the European Space Agency\u2019s JUICE mission, which studies Jupiter and its largest moons; ESA\u2019s ARIEL, which will study the atmospheres of 1,000 exoplanets; NASA\u2019s Dragonfly, which will explore Titan; and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency\u2019s Martian Moon eXploration (MMX) mission, which will collect samples from Phobos, one of Mars\u2019 moons.<\/p>\n Her presentation on the first day of the summit focused on these missions and the major scientific questions they aim to answer.<\/p>\n Searching for life beyond Earth<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Habitability remains one of the central questions in space exploration, Coustenis said, because humanity has long sought to determine whether life could exist elsewhere.<\/p>\n Scientists have already sent around 50 missions to Mars, she noted, because it is Earth\u2019s closest planetary neighbour and lies relatively close to the region around a star where liquid water can exist on a planetary surface.<\/p>\n But scientists are increasingly interested in the outer Solar System, where evidence suggests that oceans exist beneath the icy surfaces of moons orbiting the giant planets.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are enormous oceans, with much more water than all the oceans on Earth,\u201d Coustenis said. \u201cSo the question is whether we could also have life within these oceans.\u201d<\/p>\n Protecting other worlds and Earth<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Another major area of Coustenis\u2019 work involves planetary protection \u2014 the rules governing space missions to prevent biological contamination of other worlds and protect Earth from potentially harmful material brought back from space.<\/p>\n These rules include sterilising spacecraft and properly managing samples collected during missions.<\/p>\n Coustenis chairs the Planetary Protection Panel of the international scientific organisation COSPAR and coordinates space agencies and major companies in implementing planetary protection standards.<\/p>\n Despite rapid advances in space exploration, she believes human settlement beyond Earth remains some way off.<\/p>\n \u201cSettlement on Mars is not going to happen before the next two or three decades,\u201d she said, citing discussions with doctors and astronauts about the physiological limits of the human body.<\/p>\n On the Moon, however, she believes bases could become possible within the next decade.<\/p>\n Such facilities would initially remain temporary, she said, because scientists have yet to create a completely closed and self-sustaining biosphere, even on Earth.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still have a long way to go before we can create one for more permanent habitation on the Moon,\u201d Coustenis said.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n