Cavenauts - ESA CAVES in Slovenia
When astronauts take part in training in caves, they become cavenauts. An interview with Loredana Bessone, head of ESA’s CAVES and PANGEA astronaut training programmes, and karstologist Franci Gabrovšek, who is involved in the project.
06. May 2024
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When astronauts participate in cave training, they become... cavenoauts. Why are (even Slovenian) caves suitable for astronauts, what do they learn, and what do they test themselves in? We talked to Loredana Bessone, head of the ESA CAVES and ESA PANGEA astronaut training programs, and Prof. Franci Gabrovšek from the Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, who also collaborates on the program.
We are grateful to Loredana Bessone for providing the audio file used during astronaut training. The text is from the book “Into the unknown: the exploration of Škocjan Caves”.
Support the podcast on https://ko-fi.com/temnastranlune.
Cover image: Astronaut cave training. Image credit: ESA – A. Romeo.
Notes |
- ESA CAVES and Pangea main page
- ESA CAVES 2012 discovery of a new crustacean species in cave training course
- Grottenarbeiter (director Tullio Bernabei)
- A book on the exploration of the Škocjan Caves: “Into the unknown : the exploration of Škocjan Caves" / "V neznano : raziskovanje Škocjanskih jam”
Podcasts and book recommendations by Loredana Bessone |
- Houston we have a podcast
- ESA explores podcast
- 13 minutes to the Moon
- The interplanetary podcast
- Samantha Cristoforetti: Diary of an Apprentice Astronaut
- Tim Peake: The Astronaut Selection Test Book
- Cris Kraft: Flight: My life in mission control
- Gene Kranz (Apollo flight director): Failure is not an option
- Chris Hadfield: An astronaut guide to life on Earth
Recommendations from Franci Gabrovšek |
News |
Observations |
- projekt Sonce v pločevinki
- (book) G. Cannat, “Glej jih, zvezde! Najlepši prizori na nebu v letu 2023”
- ISS passes: on the website: na spletni strani Vesolje.net, on the website Heavens-Above
- Space weather on Space Weather.com
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Logo: (modified) Moon image, credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
Audio intermezzo: NASA/Hubble/SYSTEM Sounds (Matt Russo, Andrew Santaguida)
Cave sounds from ZapSplat
Music: Peli (Opravičujemo se za vse nevšečnosti)
Temna stran Lune is a part of Zavod Cosmolab, website for promotion and popularization of astrophisycs.
