Toulouse: “The Cité de l’Espace is not a house that falls asleep” says its godmother, the astronaut Claudie Haigneré
The Cité de l’Espace is blowing out its 25th birthday this Saturday and invites the public to celebrate this anniversary with a free and unique programme. Astronaut Claudie Haigneré, the site’s godmother, evokes the past and the future of the City. Interview.
The Cité de l’Espace is blowing out its 25th birthday this Saturday and invites the public to celebrate this anniversary with a free and unique programme. Astronaut Claudie Haigneré, the site’s godmother, evokes the past and the future of the City. Interview.
25 years ago, you were among the guests present at the inauguration of the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse. What memories do you have of it?
Of that day in question, I don’t have very precise memories. On the other hand, I remember very well the moment when Dominique Baudis asked me to become the godmother of the Cité de l’Espace. It was in 1996, I was flying on board the Mir station and I accepted. This moment symbolizes my role as godmother through which I wish to speak to a wide audience, but also to young people to transmit to them the passion, curiosity and enthusiasm for space subjects.
Nearly 25 years later, you are still one of the faithful among the faithful, how have you seen the Cité de l’Espace evaluated?
It has really developed, expanded while keeping its base and its DNA, which is to discover, love and attract the greatest public to these space subjects. At the beginning, it was mainly for children then it opened up, thanks to multiple activities. The Cité de l’Espace has been very good at using new technologies and adapting to space news. For example, for Thomas Pesquet’s flight, we had this control room which almost allows us to be with him, in his mission. Today, the City hosts the Martian terrain with replicas of the Rovers that are currently on Mars. We are really in the follow-up, and even the anticipation of the news. It’s great to be in touch with the transformation of today’s space.
Today, the Cité de l’Espace is popular with both tourists and scientists…
I would add by the economic and industrial space ecosystem, with the presence of small start-ups, CNES teams, and great scientists like Sylvestre Maurice who has just received a major international prize.
The Cité de l’Espace has welcomed 7 million visitors since its opening, can we talk about success?
For three years, we have been on a tremendous dynamic but if there were, before, complicated years. Its director Jean Baptiste Desbois is a driving force behind the transformations that have worked. The Cité de l’Espace retains its attractiveness thanks to its new proposals, to the questioning of its teams of mediators who renew their educational formulas to integrate new technologies, stick to current events… It is not at all a house that falls asleep.
How do you see the Cité de l’Espace in 25 years?
The return to the Moon will be very important in the next five years. This has already been anticipated with the Lune exhibition, and we are going to follow this very closely. There will also be the James Webb telescope which will reach us at the end of the Universe, Ariane 6, … The important thing in the 21st century is that children keep this curiosity, this wonder for space. If the City can continue to goad them; in their regard, it is essential.
When will a Frenchwoman be in space, after you?
There is a selection in progress, four or six people will be selected, I hope that there will be, among them, French people and why a woman. I would be very happy. For my part, I know that I was able to have an impact on young girls to inspire them, to give them audacity. But these examples should not be too time-shifted, hence the need for a younger woman today.
A festive Saturday
This Saturday, June 25, the Cité de l’espace celebrates its 25th anniversary and invites the public to come and celebrate this anniversary around a free and unique program.
From 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.: the public will be able to take advantage of the permanent offer of the Cité de l’Espace – exhibitions, films, workshops – and discover the Martian Terrain.
From 4 p.m.: Many meetings will punctuate this anniversary to arouse the curiosity of young and old, including duo workshops between Cité de l’Espace organizers and scientists. More information on events: https://25ans.cite-espace.com/. Access by registration required for the general public on this link.
From 20h : the public will meet a set of invitations that will take them into the future to discover major space projects and the challenges of the 21st century. Among these guests: many personalities from the space world, scientists, researchers and artists…