Pesquet, the Mars Rovers … for a re-launch, the Cité de l’Espace and its visitors make up for lost time

Forget the 10-kilometer restrictions and confinement, you may also travel light-years. This Tuesday morning, little Paul arrives from Bordeaux with his younger brother and his parents in the most appropriate outfit possible to visit the city. Space city : His astronaut costume, received this Christmas. So yeah, Paul should be in school. “But we decided to play it safe and come on Tuesday to avoid the crowds,” explains Julie, her mother. Because this expedition to Toulouse is the pinnacle of the spatial and special Christmas of the little boy who has followed on Instagram the launch of the Alpha mission for
Thomas Pesquet For the International Space Station (ISS) and knows the difference between Mars rover for curiosity and perseverance.

The Bordelles were not wrong. If there is a crowd at the entrance this Tuesday at the time of the opening and a security control line, inside, you can move quietly, while respecting the physical distances. But as for the relaunch of Pentecost, “We had a good turnout at the weekend, which is almost normal for the bridge,” says Jean-Baptiste Despoi, Director of the Science Park. The reception distributed 1500 touch pens – the novelty of the moment is greatly appreciated by visitors to take advantage of the interactive stations without risking – Sunday and 1000 on Saturday and Monday. With a huge response, schools have also returned since Monday, which is no longer a test day closed until further notice. A “way to make up for lost time” for “frustrated” employees who have gone through space events behind closed doors such as the perseverance arrival from Mars or the departure of Thomas Pesquet’s second departure.

Physical and mental training for the re-opening mission

The mission succeeded in catching up, according to Philip, a native of Lyon traveling in a shared vehicle in the southwest with friends. “We have the impression that we are replaying the information we heard during incarceration,” he says while comparing the aesthetics of the persevering rover and its Chinese “cousin” Zhurong, both of which are in full size. In another building, Paul is making use of a new opened “control room” to monitor the Alpha mission. Note the trajectory of the International Space Station live for a few moments. In this “newsroom”, which was launched without anyone, the audience seemed to have a penchant for experimenting on the seats of the Crew Dragon capsule, the ones in which the French astronaut sat.

In one corner, Stade Toulousaine’s European Cup shirt isn’t his fifth star yet, but visitors, mainly from afar, don’t notice this spatiotemporal gap. On the video wall, Cité will broadcast – usually on Wednesday 16 and Sunday 20 June – Thomas Pesquet’s famous outings outside the car. Once again, the scent of great meetings floats at the Cité de l’Espace where psychics have had to participate in intense training, both physically and mentally, grappling with demanding fake clients, to re-learn how to stand for whole days and answer more specific questions.