On February 15, the day before the European Space Summit organized by France in the frame of its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Embassy of France in the United States hosted a screening of the film Proxima. The event featured comments by Nicolas Maubert, Space Counselor and CNES Representative. Following are excerpts from his remarks.
“Proxima is the name of the nearest star from our Sun located in the constellation of Centaurus. Still 4.2 light years away from us… So close but so far at the same time…So this movie is about space, about human exploration, about dream of the new frontier, but also about the difficulties and sacrifices that come with it.
“Space is a powerful tool for inspiring and making everyone dream. Space pushes the boundary of science and technology, of our knowledge of the universe, all that for the benefit of humanity.
“Space is also an amazing tool at the service of diplomacy and really fosters international relations. Indeed, the space environment is extremely challenging and these challenges cannot be overcome without strong international cooperation. The development of ambitious space missions has long relied on close relationships among space-faring nations.”