Space research has proved successful in low Earth orbit and now returning to the moon or landing on Mars are the main goals for space exploration. 

But what will be needed to achieve safe and successful exploration in the future? Is human fragility a limit that can be overcome when exploring space and how?

At GLEX2021, the Global Space Exploration Conference that took place in St Petersburg, we put this question to Eleonora Zeminiani, a space engineer from Thales Alenia Space.

Zeminiani is an expert in the optimization of human space exploration, or, simply put, a "space businesswoman."

READ MORE:

The end of the space 'race'

Is there life on Mars?

How to become a paper plane champion
 

Thales Alenia Space helps governments, institutions and other companies design, operate and deliver satellite-based systems that help them position and connect anyone or anything, everywhere and it aims to help optimize the use of our planet's – and our solar system's – resources. 

So what does Zeminiani think are the current challenges to space travel and how far humans can go?

"I think that right now we are very limited by the fragility of human beings. If it were just for our machines, we could venture everywhere. But we really need to take care of the astronauts and cosmonauts," she says.

Given these limits, what does sustainable space travel mean and how can we achieve that? Is the "moon economy" a new way of thinking about space?

"[Sustainable space travel] means how far you can go without needing to rely on the Earth for supplies. All your crew, your staff, can work and operate safely and reliably far from Earth, but also how you can make this financially viable. I mean, if you want to do this in the long run, you need investors. You need to create the market. You need to have an economic purpose in doing that. So you need the resources. You need to create products, you need to create services."

Medical and technological research go hand-in-hand to guarantee a successful and safe experience, as Zeminiani explains.

"Safety for all people involved, for the ground crew and for the flight crew, is of paramount importance. And it's what's driving today's exploration efforts to go back or forward to the moon," she says.

"We need to make sure that it will be a safe journey. So protecting people from temperature extremes, from vacuum, from micrometeorites, from radiation, that's part of the technical challenge."

Interview: Stephen Cole and Francesca Della Penna
Video Editor: Pedro Duarte

(Cover picture: The Long March 5B rocket successfully flies for the first time. /VCG)