Toulouse. The Cité de l’Espace welcomes Perseverance and Zhurong, the two new Mars craft

perseverance And the Zurong Landed in Toulouse. Perhaps not the real rovers (American for the first, Chinese for the second), found on Mars, but their replicas occurred on Mars. The new terrain of Mars in the Cité de l’Espace. The 218-seat amphitheater allows you to discover it on the job The Martian decoration has been redesigned on an area of ​​900 square meters.

From April 5, these two replicas will present to the public the missions that rovers on the surface of the Red Planet. “It simply allows you to realize what they are doing, and all the work behind it, appreciates Tessa, the seventh millionth visitor to Cité who has been invited to discover the new exhibition. I did not imagine it was necessary 100 people to drive it from Earth! »

Striking replicas of realism

Fully maneuverable on its six wheels, it is larger than life. “These replicas very loyaleven to the point that one might wonder if NASA and CAST (Chinese Academy of Aerospace Technology) who copied our rovers to send them to Mars,” rejoices Jean-Baptiste Desbois, General Manager of Cité de l’Espace. Sylvester Morris, astrophysicist and creator of the SuperCam for the American rover, agrees.

It took two years for Cité teams to develop this clone of Mount Merko, which was climbed by the Curiosity rover. “It’s a huge challenge! We had the opportunity to work with the scientists and engineers who came at different stages of the project Give us their experience and their Martian eye. »

You’re on Mars when you come to this exhibition, and that changes everything in the understanding we can have for exploring the Red Planet!

In addition to colors and size, the purpose of this permanent exhibition is to explain the role of these rover’s in the exploration of Mars. “We know that This planet may have harbored life, but no trace was found. It’s a mystery these robots are trying to solve, Christophe Chavardon explains.

This new installation is in keeping with the Cité de l’Espace, paying attention to the smallest details to make the space accessible to the general public. “It is important: our mission is to make this science more accessible and understandable to the public at large,” Jean-Baptiste Desbois supports.

” We want Sparks ignite in the eyes of young people, especially young women, continues the general manager of the Cité de l’Espace. Make them want to work in all these professions, science and engineering, where we see great work. »

Practical information:
From 5 April in the Cité de l’Espace
Avenue Jean Gonord, Toulouse
05 67 22 23 24

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