I've been as a pilot involved in the Gulf War. And then, in the No-Fly Zone

It's only when you're flying above it that you realize how incredible the Earth really is

So, it takes a lot of chance and luck. I mean I was lucky enough to get in the program where people with the same skills never made it to the program. So keep trying.

And, I think, as a kid, I had a strong motivation to do something of my life. And, I think that's the strongest motivation I really got. And, that came obviously from my parents and my grandparents

And everything stopped quite rapidly because I knew that nobody in Europe was able to go to space. It was the privilege of being either American or Russian.

Polytechnique is a school whose multi disciplinary, very high scientific level curriculum is invaluable.

The last thing, and the only one that you cannot physically train for, is the psychological preparation