Toulouse. The Cité de l’Espace welcomes Perseverance and Zhurong, its two new Mars rovers
By Clement Gruin
Published on
Perseverance and Zhurong landed in Toulouse. Maybe not the real rovers (American for the first, Chinese for the second), which are on Mars, but their replicas took place on the new Martian terrain of the Cité de l’Espace. A 218-seat amphitheater allows you to discover them in function in a Martian decor recreated on 900m².
From April 5, these two replicas will present to the public the missions that the rovers will carry out on the surface of the red planet. “It allows you to simply realize what they do, and all the work behind it, appreciates Tessa, the 7 millionth visitor to the Cité invited to discover the new exhibition. I did not imagine that it was necessary 100 people for the pilot from Earth! »
Striking replicas of realism
Totally maneuverable on their six wheels, they are larger than life. “These replicas are extremely faithfuleven to the point that one can wonder if it is not NASA and CAST (the Chinese Academy of Space Technology) who copied our rovers to send them to Mars”, rejoices Jean-Baptiste Desbois, the general manager of the Cité de l’Espace. Sylvestre Maurice, astrophysicist and creator of the American rover’s SuperCam, approved.
It took two years for the Cité teams to develop this reproduction of the Mount Mercou, which was climbed by the Curiosity rover. “It’s a sacred challenge! We had the chance to work with the scientists and engineers who came at different stages of the project give us their expertise and their Martian eye. »
You are on Mars when you come to attend this exhibition, and that changes everything in the understanding that we can have of the exploration of the Red Planet!
Beyond colors and size, the purpose of this permanent exhibition is to explain the role of these rovers in Martian exploration. ” We know that this planet may have harbored life, but no trace has ever been found. It’s an enigma that these robots are trying to solve,” explains Christophe Chaffardon.
This new installation is in line with the Cité de l’Espace, taking care of the smallest detail to make the space affordable to the general public. “It’s important: our job is to make this science more accessible and more understandable for the general public”, supports Jean-Baptiste Desbois.
” We want lights sparks in the eyes of young people, and in particular young women, continues the director general of the Cité de l’Espace. Make them want to work in all these professions, science and engineering, where we see remarkable work. »
Practical information :
From April 5 at the Cité de l’Espace
Avenue Jean Gonord, Toulouse
05 67 22 23 24
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