By Fernando Doblas and Marco Trovatello
After an exciting week of ESA exhibiting at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, and with the imminent launch of the Copernicus satellite Sentinel 2A, our next event is already due. It is called Space Girls Space Women, and it’s not just an ordinary exhibition, but in fact goes much beyond.
As the title suggests, it presents the stories of girls and women passionate about space, all around the world. The testimonies of these women are so true, so strong, that they can certainly act as role models for many girls who think, or are told, that science and technology is just a matter of boys. Space, due to its inspirational nature, has a major role to play in this essential domain.
Fatoumata Kebe, 28, is working on her thesis at the Observatoire de Paris, specialising in space debris. Photo credit: Laurence Geai, Sipa Press
Hence, the ESA Communication Department teamed up with French Photo Agency Sipa Press to bring ‘Space Girls Space Women’ to life: 19 original photo and video stories, showing three generations of women in context of space, produced by 11 renowned female photographers. They met female students passionate about space, scientists, engineers and many more who are today at the heart of the space adventure – from Nairobi to Moscow, from Bangalore to Munich, from the Atacama Desert to the suburbs of Izmir, the photo reporters illustrated these women’s views of space.
The result is a marvelous exhibition that will tour the world, as well as a multimedia app for smartphones and tablets (iOS/Android) and, in addition, a website featuring interviews, images, videos representing the exhibits. Access to the exhibition and download of the app are free of charge.
The first station of the touring exhibition will be Paris, with two places: The ‘Musée des arts et métiers’ (CNAM)‘ and ‘L’Observatoire de Paris’, where Space Girls Space Women will be showing from 18 June to 1 November 2015.
The official inauguration will take place on 29 June 2015 at the Musée des arts et métiers, in the presence of Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA Director General, and Olivier Faron, CNAM Administrator General.
For further information, please visit the website at spacewomen.org.
The application Space Girls Space Women for smartphones and tablets is already available via Apple App Store for iOS and will be available via Google Play as of 22 June 2015.
The Exhibition Space Girls Space Women in Paris, 18 June to 1 November 2015, will take place at Musée des arts et métiers, 60 rue Réaumur, Paris 3e, with free entry, Tuesday to Wednesday from 10.00 to 18.00 CEST, Thursday from 10.00 to 21.30, Friday to Sunday from 10.00 to 18.00, and at the fence of the Jardin de l’Observatoire de Paris’ 98 boulevard Arago, Paris 14e.
The project, implemented by Sipa Press, has been made possible thanks to the commitment of the European Space Agency as a founding partner. The French space agency CNES, the NEREUS network, la Cité de l’espace, and the GSA participate as well. Universcience co-produced the multimedia application with an ESTIM grant. Space Girls Space Women is also supported by the network Women in Aerospace Europe (WIA-E).
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