Two of WIA-Europe’s corporate members, the photojournalism agency Sipa Press and the European Space Agency ESA, are proud to present a series of 18 original reportages exploring the way three generations of women view space in a photographic exhibition at the Musée des Arts et Métiers and on the fence of the Jardin de l’Observatoire in Paris, from 18 June to 1 November, 2015.
Women journalists meet space women
More than fifty years ago, Valentina Terechkova became the first woman cosmonaut and is still the only woman to have performed a solo journey into space.
The European space project has been a reality for more than fifty years and yet, despite the presence of many
women in key positions, women are still
under-represented in scientific careers, accounting for only 17% of engineers in France.
Nowadays, space-related technologies
have never been so present in our
daily lives. The spirit of space “conquest” has changed and is now a source of international cooperation.
With this in mind, Sipa Press worked with a team of female reporters to meet the girls who have their heads in the stars, female students passionate about space, and women 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, they have illustrated a woman’s view of space which will culminate in a touring exhibition and a multimedia application.
From dreaming of the stars to exploring space
This photographic investigation depicts three generations of women around the world involved in various ways in space exploration.
Many 10-18 year-old girls around the world dream of becoming astronomers, designing rockets or being the first to land on Mars. Our reporters followed some of them to space camps in the US and Turkey as well as in Biscarosse (France) during a homemade rocket launch day.
A new generation of female students is getting ready for the challenges of the twenty-first century space adventure. In Toronto, Zainab, an 11 year-old schoolgirl already has her ticket to travel in space with Virgin Galactic. Young women such as Anita Vuya in Kenya, Fatoumata Kebe and Camille Dijoux in France have decided to study spatial engineering. Around the globe, women are working on European and international space programs (Herschel and Planck missions, Rosetta, International Space Station, Galileo, Ariane…). Whether they are astronauts, engineers, or project managers for satellites, they are on the front line of scientific research on space.
Partners
This project, implemented by production manager Benoit Delplanque (Sipa Press) and astrophysicist and WIA-Europe board member Fiorella Coliolo (ExoWorld), has been made possible thanks to the commitment of founding partner European Space Agency (ESA). CNES, the NEREUS network, La Cité de l’espace, and the GSA are also participating in this co-production. Universcience co-produced the multimedia application with an ESTIM grant. Furthermore, Space Girls, Space Women is also supported by Women in Aerospace Europe.
Practical Information
Website « Space Girls Space Women »: www.spacewomen.org
Exhibition « Space Girls Space Women », Paris, 18 June – 1 November 2015:
• Musée des arts et métiers, 60 rue Réaumur, Paris 3e, free entry. Tuesday to Wednesday from 10.00 to 18.00, Thursday from 10.00 to 21.30, Friday to Sunday from 10.00 to 18.00.
• Fence of the Jardin de l’Observatoire, 98 boulevards Arago, Paris 14th arondissement.
The application “Space Girls Space Women” for smartphones and tablets related to the exhibition will be available from the 22nd of June 2015 on iOS and Android. The application includes educational features, quizzes, testimonies and resources.
Please download here the invitation flyer.
