From left to right: Marina Ranatnen, ESA Young Graduate Trainee; Daniela Drimaco, Planetek Business Development Specialist; Zainab Rizvee, aspiring to be the youngest passenger to fly with Virgin Galactic; Claudie Haigneré, Astronaut and special advisor of ESA Director General; Marianne Merchez, Belgian doctor from the Catholic University of Louvain and a former European Space Agency astronaut; Ana Bolea Alamanac, ESA SAT-AIS System and Payload Manager; and Fiorella Coliolo, WIA-E Director for Corporate Members & Paris local group leader; at the inauguration of the "Space Girls, Space Women: l'espace à travers le regard des femmes" exhibition, on 29 June 2015, at the Musée des arts et métiers (CNAM) in Paris.
A photo exhibition "Space Girls, Space Women: l'espace à travers le regard des femmes" is presented by the photo agency Sipa Press and ESA at the Musée des arts et métiers.
As the title suggests, the exhibition 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 for boys. Space, due to its inspirational nature, has a major role to play in this essential domain.
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 the 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 an 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 and 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, in two locations: le 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.