Published on June 2, 2021
Discover the IAF Member of the Month June
Cité de l'Espace
Cité de l'espace is the main science centre dedicated to space in Europe. Every year, 400 000 visitors, general public and schools, visit its exhibitions, theatres, gardens presenting life-size artefacts, astronomical dome… and enjoy demonstrations and shows. Periodically they can also take part to large events celebrating special space achievements: Perseverance landing, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet launch, Apollo anniversary, Galileo satellite launch but also the Association of Space Explorers congress. Students, an important category of visitors, get inspired and expand their knowledge in one of the numerous educational programs Cité de l’espace offers…hopefully becoming the space professionals of tomorrow. Cité de l’espace is a Toulouse Metropole facility, operated by a Public Private Partnership involving main local public actors (Toulouse City, Toulouse Metropole, Region Occitanie) and major space players (Cnes, Airbus, Thales Alenia Space, Meteo France…).
Toulouse (France) being known as the European space capital, Cité de l’espace is fully integrated within the space ecosystem, locally, nationally and also internationally. It has established strong ties and works in close cooperation with its national space agency (CNES) and also with the European Space Agency (ESA), the Ministry of Education, various universities and research labs. Cité de l’espace is an active member of the IAF since 2014. Its CEO, M. Jean Baptiste Desbois chairs the Space Museums and Science Centres Committee. Cité de l’espace is active at international level: engaged in various international networks, establishing cooperation with other museums and space agencies all over the world, and sharing its expertise with other institutions. Visitors coming to Cité de l’espace discover that space is an international topic thanks to objects and projects presented coming from France, Europe, the United States, China and Russia… Cité de l’espace is definitively an internationally minded space science centre!
