After spending three weeks in the icy lands of Lapland, the climatonauts are back in France! The team, divided into two groups, flew back from Ivalo in Finland to land in Paris on 4 and 5 April. Barely enough time to land for an evening, the appointment was already made at the Brain Institute (ICM) to carry out the post-mission scientific protocols.
All the volunteers’ fingers and toes were able to return home, but some were still numb and the minds were still immersed in the snowy landscapes of Lapland. Snowy and freezing. The team experienced a wide range of temperatures during their journey, from -5°C to -34°C real at the lowest. All agreed that the cold was one of the main difficulties of the mission.
While some of them managed to adapt to it in the end, for others the task was much more difficult. But the group itself was a precious support in the face of physical and moral difficulties. Even when the pulkas, loaded with about 80 kilos, became too heavy for some.
Now back in France, the climatonauts have kept some traces of their journey: cold burns here and there, sometimes painful, sometimes completely painless. For the other changes, it is science that will speak. Sensory, blood and physical tests, MRI… The battery of studies conducted at the ICM will provide data on the changes experienced by the organisms during the Lapland crossing.
At the end of these few days of protocols, the climatonauts will be able to rest before the final stage of the Deep Climate project: the expedition to Saudi Arabia. Departure is scheduled for next May.